Crownquest
by Sub-Par Grief
Summary: Asriel hasn't been doing so well since he was rescued from an eternity of emotioneless torment, but when the people he loves the most are kidnapped by an ancient enemy, he is given the chance prove himself, along with Monster Kid. And perhaps even find redemption.
1. Chapter 1

**Heya!**

 **So, if any of you are on AO3, you may already know this story. Believe it or not, i just recently discovered was a thing, so i thought "Eh, why not". Unfortunately the pen name "Good Grief" was already taken, so i had to settle for second best.**

 **This is my first fanfic ever, so please treat it as such :) I have rewritten it from the one on AO3 in some spots i felt could be improved.**

 **It's based somewhat on the ever popular Dreemurr-Reborn Tumblr page (If you don't know what that this, then what the heck are you doing here?), in the sense that risk has given up their SOUL so save Asriel.**

 **I'll try and get the other parts up here as well ASAP.**

 **The first few chapters are mostly build-up, but there will be a lot of action and figthing later on :)**

–-

The door was locked, the blinds were closed, the lights were off and the bedsheets were tear-stained.

Or, they were being stained... slowly.

This was definitely one of the more pathetic breakdowns he had had, it all started so innocently enough even.

" _My child, would you care to join us for some snail pie?"_ his mother had said... But the way she said it, the way she dragged out word "pie" and the way her mouth had formed into a loving smile with just the same kind of angles and curves, just as the words left it.

It reminded him of his... 34th? 47Th reset? He didn't really remember the number, but what he did remember was what was right now being replayed over and over in his mind. He remembered that he had given the whole "Pretend to be a happy family" schtick another go, after about 10 consecutive runs of general carnage, mayhem and soulless genocide, which was fun for a while.  
He remembered that he had told his mother the true story, about who he really was. She had cried, of course, she always did when he told her that. They had embraced lovingly, but it was an empty one, they had exchanged words of love and reassurance, but they too, had been empty, at least from his side.  
Then one day Toriel had asked him _"My child, wold you care to join us for some snail pie?"_ They had guests over, he remembered, some of Toriels old friends from when she still lived at the castle. He was about to accept the offer, when a sudden idea and desire filled his soulless petals and stem.

He hadn't tried killing anyone with a pastry before.

Idea and desire had quickly turned to action. He remembered how he had ensnared Toriel, his own mother with his vines, and how he had force-fed her the whole pie until she had choked to death, tears of hurt betrayal and confusion on her cheeks. The guests had tried to stop him, of course, but he was too amused to pay them any mind. It didn't last long, and when the turn came to the guests, who were at that point crying over the newly-formed pool of dust on the floor, he remembered them. He remembered them from before, a kind, old duck-like elderly woman and her daughter. He remembered how the old duck had secretly snuck him candy when she visited them before his fall, when he was still Asriel, he liked her, he liked her a lot.

Now?

He liked how she had screamed as he tore her apart, her daughter too.

With the grizzly deed done, he turned to leave, a slight sigh escaping him. Yet another thing that would never amuse him anymore.  
He had caught a slight glow in his peripheral vision. A greyish heart was floating above one of the dust piles. His mothers. He had tried absorbing her soul before, of course, it didn't really do much, other than adding a small voice in his head that urged and pleaded with him to stop doing stuff he found amusing, not much more than a proverbial rock in his shoe.

He had edged closer to the soul, he felt a kind, loving warmth radiating from it. Despite all he had, would and probably was going to do to her, despite everything it was still Toriel.

With a casual flick of one of his vines, he cleaved the soul in twain. Despite the love shown to him, despite the warm embrace and pie he could always expect, despite everything he was still Flowey.

With that thought, Asriel finally burst. He screamed loudly, although the pillow he held pressed to his face turned his mournful cry of regret into a muffled "Nooooooooooo..." He was heaving, tossing and turning in his bed, as if he could somehow shake the terrible memories out of his head, trough his eyes or trough his mouth. It never really worked.

But like all things, the breakdown came to an end. Slowly, he forced himself to think of other, happier memories. Of when he was saved, of when he had reunited with his parents once more, even when he had gotten his first A+ in school, anything.  
It was an uphill battle, clinging to these memories, like climbing a mountain. He had to hold on with all his strength, or he would slip back down into the dark abyss.

But it slowly became easier. The tears stopped flowing, but the whimpering would carry on for a while longer. He curled up into a fetal position, shaking, sniffling and whimpering "I... Im n-not F-F-Flowey" he stammered. The words continued in his head, unsaid, but still just as true "But I'm not Asriel either"

He suddenly became aware of a pair of arms enveloping him. His mother, of course. He had hoped against hope that the sight of him breaking down into violent tears at the mere suggestion of having pie, wouldn't have worried her. But of course, she was Toriel and he, as unfair as it was, was her son.

Toriel had been sitting at his bedside for the past 5 minutes, gently whispering words of consolation and trying to pick him up into a hug, but while her son was suffering trough having horrible memories forced into his sweet, innocent mind he had trashed about too much. But at long last the wait was over.

" _Mom... I-im s-sorry"_ he whimpered. She pulled him closer _"Nonsense, my child. You have nothing to apologize for. I did this to you. I truly don't know how, but it was my words that caused this"_ she said as she gently stroked one of his ears. Tears had begun pooling in her eyes now. She hated this. She hated how vulnerable they had both became, she hated that her son, and therefore herself, could be reduced to this quivering, shaking mass of fur, tears and apologies at any moment. She hated that they weren't a happy family. A happy family would sit in living room, filling it with laughter, joy and smiles.

But since the barrier broke about half a year ago, there hadn't been a whole lot of that.

She looked down at Asriel and caressed the back of his head. Most of all, she hated what had become of her son. He had told her, vaguely, about what he had done in time after his death. The horrible, terrible acts he had committed for the promise of the slightest amusement. She had never felt so heartbroken, at least not since her son had dissolved into dust in her arms so long ago. Now, with Asriel shaking and whimpering in her arms, it almost felt like he would dissolve again, at any moment.

Finally, after several minutes of caressing, loving kisses and embraces, Asriel finally, gently pushed himself away and sat up, looking away from his mother. He felt rotten looking at her teary-eyed, and how often he had done this to her.

The pie had probably gone cold by now.

" _Asriel, my son... please, tell me what to do. I-I want to help you. Is there anything I can do?"_ She asked, almost desperately. Asriel didn't answer, he never did, but she never stopped asking. She wanted so desperately to help her son, to make him move on, to somehow ligtehn the load on his SOUL.

" _I don't think... you should help me"_ he whispered sadly _"I don't deserve it... I don't deserve... you"_ Tears started forming in his eyes again. Toriel once again picked up her broken son _"Oh, my son... don't ever think that. Don't ever think that you don't deserve this"_ she whimpered.

Night had fallen. The pie had been eaten, cold, but delicious nonetheless, as they always were. Asriel and Toriel had spent the aftermath of his breakdown in the living room. Him sitting on her lap, while she read the same stories to him she used to when they had still lived underground. It reminded him of better, happier days. Days where he didn't feel bad for just being alive. Days were he had really been Prince Asriel Dreemurr.

Now, as he was getting tucked into bed, he had finally regained some semblance of peace of mind. _"I'm sorry for being such a crybaby, mom"_ he said. He really was sorry, for not being brave and strong like a true prince and future king should be. Toriel smiled _"It is allright, my child. You are and always will be my little crybaby"_ she planted yet another kiss on her sons forehead, and slowly, without breaking sight of Asriel, Toriel backed out of the room.

As he did every night, Asriel sat up on his bed after his mother left. He cupped his hands to his chest, and with a heavy sigh, drew his SOUL out of him. Just like every night, he inspected the glowing, gray heart, looking for some kind of imperfection, some kind of stain, some kind of proof that he really was nothing more but a pathetic little wretch, that he didn't deserve this second chance at life that had been so unfairly given to him. That he really wasn't Asriel Dreemurr anymore.  
But just like every night, there was nothing to see, save the little, almost invisible red spot in the middle of his SOUL. Frisk, too small to be heard or noticed but they were there nonetheless.  
A grieving reminder of what had been lost trying to save him.

With another heavy sigh, he pulled his SOUL back into himself, and snuggled back under the covers. He hugged a plushy heart his father had given him close to his chest, and closed his eyes. He knew he wouldn't get much sleep, the memories and nightmares wouldn't allow it, but for the sake of his mother and Frisk, he would at least try.

Toriel was staring out the window in the living room. Nothing but darkness. A grim, symbolic reminder of what had fallen over the new surface Dreemurr household, lying in the shadow of mt. Ebott. This couldn't go on. She had to save her son, she had already once seen, first hand, what deep despair could make even the most noble and kind souls do.

It was clear that Asriel had lost faith in himself. She had to rekindle that faith, that hope that had been lost. She would help him, of course, but dragging Asriel out of the deep hole he was currently residing in... was something he would have to do mostly on his own.

She found her pen and a notepad and started making plans. She would not lose her son yet again.

She was determined not to.


	2. Breaking Point

**So, next chapter, also slightly rewritten.**

 **I know it's still a bit sappy, but the we'll get to the action soon enough :)**

– **-**

Asriel woke up to darkness.

Quite literally, as his left ear had fallen over his eyes.

He rolled onto his back, and rubbed his eyes. He always liked the colorful explosions that appeared behind his eyelids that resulted thereof, they reminded him of stars.  
He really liked stars.

With the last of the sandmans dust cleaned away, he raised his paws up. The red morning light shone trough the blinds, filling the room with reddish hue. And making his paws appears almost as if blood-stained.

" _How fitting"_ Asriel thought.

Monday. A school day. School was a mixed blessing. It forced Asriel to focus on other subjects than his own memories. But then there were all the other kids, some of which had been subjects for his amusements during his time as Flowey, there were also a small group humans who regularly got a kick out of bullying a supposed royal monster. Asriel didn't hate them though. They were probably doing the right thing, making sure he felt as much unhappiness as he deserved.

He hopped out of bed and picked his shirt and trousers off a chair. A white T-shirt covered by a dark-blue hoodie, complimented by a pair of cowboy jeans. Not his favorite clothes, that honor belonged to the green and yellow sweater lying at the bottom of his wardrobe. He hadn't worn it ever since he was rescued, and the sins of the past had started to catch up to him. It belonged to a different Asriel, the one of the past, the good one.

He slipped out of his green, star-speckled pajamas, into his daily-wear and headed for the door. There, on the frame hung a drawing his best friend had made, a long time ago. A drawing of him and Chara, standing under a crude sketch of the Delta Rune. A reminder of what was expected of him, and what had been lost along the way.

Being a school day, Toriel had left early to prepare the lessons of the day for the students, meaning the house was empty. She had entered Asriels room to give him a motherly kiss before she left, he knew, he had been awake when she did so, only pretending to not just having awakened from another nightmare.

But now the house was silent and empty. He didn't like it like that, it reminded him too much of that patch of flowers, deep in The Ruins. He hadn't told his mother though, he didn't want to make her even more worried and disappointed in him.

Asriel poured himself a bowl of Mon-Stars, a human-made brand of cereal he had taken a liking to. He barely even ate half before he felt completely stuffed.  
While he ate, he went trough the homework they had been assigned for the day, the first thing that come close to being a point of pride for the day. It was a list of 10 questions regarding the colonization of America. Most of the class had groaned in despair when it had been passed out to them last friday.

Asriel had answered the whole thing before the outbreak of groan had stopped.

He even noted, with an ever so slight smirk, the addendum he had made beside question 7, where his teacher had erroneously referred to Cristopher Columbus as being from Britain, when he was, in fact, Italian, or more specifically, from the Republic of Genoa

He supposed there were some benefits to having spent a few runs reading every book there was in the Librarby.

Breakfast done, he went upstairs to the bathroom, and went about his business, making sure to wipe any spilled water from the sink, and leaving the toilet seat down. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His dark-brownish eyes had become slightly bloodshot, and dark bags were forming under them, the fur on his body has also taken a more greyish tint, a marked difference from the pristine white it used to have. He hadn't slept much he knew, he wasn't really allowed.

The morning weather of March was chilly, but it was nothing to Asriel, being protected by a warm layer of fur. Bare-footed and zipper down on his hoodie, he trotted along the pavement towards school.

Toriel looked out from a 2nd-story window of the house, her heart filled with grief from looking at her son. She remembered the old days, when Asriel and Chara would walk, hand-in-hand, smiling, laughing and hooping as they walked to school together. Now, the one person she loved the most walked alone, head bowed, shoulders hanging low and feet dragging. It was all she could do to not storm out of the house, scoop him up in a hug and reassure him that he did not need to carry such dark thoughts alone.  
But no, she could not cause suspicion, not until everything was ready. Everything had to appear as a regular monday morning.

"Just hold on a bit longer, my child" she whispered, wiping a small tear from her eye.

History class had been a breeze, likewise with english and chemistry. Asriel excelled at pretty much every subject there was, to the praise of his teachers and counselors. _"If you could show juuuust tiny bit more initiative and assertiveness, you could perhaps become the wisest king of monsters there ever was!"_ they had told him.

But who would ever want a sniveling, cowardly murder like him as king? He had only said that once, by accident even. His counselor hadn't answered, he had just stared wide-eyed, with a look of confusion.

Asriel had left the room quickly then, his eyes already starting to heat up as another wave of tears had pushed trough.

Unfortunately, as much as he was praised for his intelligence and knowledge by his teachers, the same had also earned him the scorn of some of his fellow students.

Some of which were talking to him right now.

" _Hey, why the long face, Prince Pansy?"_ Billy, also known as "Billy the Bully" asked, his 2 compatriots snickering behind his back.

" _Ah, I get it, if I knew my dad was a literal goat-screwer, i'd be kinda ashamed too!"_

Asriel didn't mind the insults being directed at him, but he couldn't stand it when it came to his family. A twitch of irritation stirred in his chest.

" _Leave me alone..."_

" _What was that? Did you say something, princess?"_

" _I'm sorry... I said leave me alo-"_

 ***Thump***

Asriel felt backwards with a whimper, he could already feel how the punch had split his lip, and how the dust spilling out was entering his mouth.  
He mustn't start to cry, not now, not in front of everyone...

" _I think you must have misunderstood something, "your highness", you're a prince of monsters, not humans, you don't get to tell me what to do."_ the bully glowered _"God, look at you, you're such a... wait a minute, are you crying!?"_

Dammit, he had really tried not to...

" _Aww, gonna cry for your momma? Well, go ahead, call for that freak you call a mother"_

" _D-don't call her that!"_ Asriel snapped back trough the sobs and tears

 _What, "freak?" oh, I can do much worse... lemme see, how about old horny bastard, she has horns, right?"_

"Stop it, or ill-"

" _Hah, you'll what? Now, where was I... oh! Capricorne cunt! Yeah, that's a good one!"_

Asriel launched at him with a snarl, teeth barred. Inside him his SOUL flared with unintended power. A magical flame had appeared in his right hand and with it, he threw a punch towards the one that would dare to talk about his mother in such a way.  
Billy stepped back in surprise and raised his arms to block the incoming punch. The punch itself landed hard, hard enough to surprise even Asriel. Billy was knocked back a few centimeters and was just about to laugh it of.

That is until he noticed his blocking arm had caught fire.

With a scream, he threw himself to the ground, rolling, trying to put the flames out. Everywhere else, the other students were looking on with a mix of surprise, excitement... and fear.

The same kind of eyes he had seen so many times during his time as Flowey.

Asriel fled the schoolyard, a trail of tears born of shame trailing behind him

That was it, he thought, the proof he needed.

The proof that despite regaining a SOUL, despite regaining his compassion and supposed kindness, he was still more than able and willing to hurt other people, the last thing the old Asriel would have ever wanted to do.

The proof that the whole world would have been better of if he had just been left down there, alone and forgotten.

Asriel looked at himself in the mirror in the bathroom of his home, finding himself unable to hold his own stare for more than a few seconds.  
There was no way his mother wouldn't hear of this, she worked at the same school he went to. There was no way she wouldn't hear of how her son had attacked another student with a magical attack.

He imagined how she would look when she got home. The look if disappointment in her eyes, the unspoken words on her lips. He knew she would probably give him her trademark motherly hug and console him. But that was probably just her own personal way of coping with him being a bad kid.

With a final wail of frustration, Asriel pounded a fist on the sink. In response, a canister fell down from a shelf above him. Asriel wiped his eyes with one of his ears and picked it up.

Sleeping Pills.

In the first days after having moved into Newest Home, as his dad had called it, Asriel had been so scared of going to bed and having nightmares, that his mother would give a glass of warm milk and a pill, then gently rock him back and forth in her arms until the little goat had fallen asleep.

He liked those sleeps. They had been filled with emptiness, no dreams and no nightmares. His mother hadn't been fond of it though, stating that sleeping pills were always a last resort.

Which might be now.

He had usually only gotten 1 pill... but what if he took the whole canister? What if he could just go to sleep and never wake up again to this nightmare? What if his mother came home and found that the huge burden on her mood and life had turned into nothing more than a fine layer of dust on his bed?

Perhaps... that would be best.

With that thought, he slowly unscrewed the lid of the canister.

" _Naaaw! Don't do that!"_ A familiar voice came. From inside his SOUL. It sounded much like his own, with just a slight hint of sadistic glee to it.

" _Flow- what? How!?"_

" _Hey, just because you lack the stems to go on, doesn't mean I do!"_


	3. Preparation

The water from the shower-head felt cleansing.

If only it could go more than just skin-deep, and also cleanse his SOUL of the horrible weed that had taken root.

After hearing that terrible, familiar voice Asriel had jumped into the shower, and opened up the floodgates, not even bothering taking his clothes of.

He just had to wake up.

This couldn't be real, this had to be one of his nightmares. Flowey was gone forever, Frisks sacrifice had made sure of that. There was no way he could still be in there, hidden deep within his SOUL.

But he had to make sure. Rubbing his head, eyes and body, he tried to get rid of the dirty feeling he suddenly had all over, his tears mixing with the water.

Almost as if his whole body was crying.

–-

" _Asriel, im hooo-oome"_ Toriel called from the front door, and placed her bag on the counter. Despite sounding jovial, it hadn't been a good day. Seeing her son drag himself somberly to school, and then the call she received about him having attacked another student. She knew there must have been some mistake, Asriel would never willingly harm another person, he'd rather die than so much as lay a finger on someone else.

He had already done so once, she recalled with a mix of pride and sadness.

" _Asrieeel"_ she called once again.

No answer...

Or, wait, there was something.

The sound of sobbing.

That in itself was nothing new, Toriel realized with a heavy heart.

But where the sobbing was coming from was new.

The bathroom?

Toriel walked up the stairs. It wouldn't be the first time she had come home to find her son sobbing under the covers of his bed. But it wasn't coming from his bedroom this time.

Slowly, she opened the door to the bathroom.

The day had instantly turned from "bad" to "absolutely terrible"

There, on the floor, clad in his drenched hoddie and covered in towels laid her son, in an even worse condition than the one she had found him in the evening before.

–-

This time, Asriel had been almost impossible to pull back. They sat for what felt like hours both crying their hearts out, one out of fear and one out of sympathy.

" _Mom.. I want to let go"_ Asriel had whimpered at one point. At first, she hadn't understood.

But then she noticed... every time she would pull her hand away from a loving caress of his neck-fur, she would have small particles of glittering dust stuck to her hand.

She had also noticed, with horror, the amount of fur that was clogging the shower drain.

Monster SOULS were comprised of many aspects and emotions, the most important ones being Mercy, Compassion, Kindness and Hope.

She knew Asriel had the first 3 in ample abundance.

But the last one...

Hope...

Asriels SOUL was dying.

She had to push the timetable of the plan dramatically.

Finally, Asriel had calmed down, only to almost start up again as he began apologizing for his wet clothes, for crying, for his behavior at school, for making his mother worry.

Toriel had answered everything with a smile and a hug.

" _Asriel, I could never be mad at you, my child"_

" _But... why not? I'm not a good kid, mom, I don't deserve-"_

" _Shush my child, you are the most kind, brave and best son I could ever wish for"_

" _Mom..."_

" _I'm just so glad you are here with me, Asriel. I do not want to ever lose you again. Do not worry, everything will be fine in the end"_

" _I... don't..."_

" _But you do, my son, more than anyone else"_

There was only one way to save Asriel. He had to learn about the great things he was capable of, that he still was the noble prince of monster she and his dad knew him to be. Her eyes fell on the pill canister lying under the sink, lid half screwed off.

" _Oh Asriel, promise me you will never leave us again"_

Finally, she they had left the bathroom together. Asriel had gone to his room to change, while Toriel went downstairs to prepare for the trip.

Asriel didn't really want to change, he felt exhausted, there mere thought of walking all the way over to his wardrobe made his eyelids feel heavy.

Instead he sat down on his bed, conjured up a few magical flames, and began drying his clothes with them.

" _Golly, that sure was a lot water and tears. Reminds me of that one time you poured concentrated buttercup extract in the school gym pool. Remember that? Boy, that pool had turned into a sandbox! I can't imagine how awkward the next parent-teacher conference musta' been"_

Asriel clenched his eyes shut, his worst nightmare suddenly made manifest.

" _Th-that wasn't m-me! That was you!"_ he tried to retort angrily. It didn't work.

" _Me? Oh, Azzy, you idiot. You're so wrong, yet so right. I AM you... the real you"_

" _No!"_

" _C'mon, think about it! For how long have you that body and a soul? About 14 years, give or take. But me? Us? Ohh, my boy, we've been going for a lot longer than that!"_

" _I'm nothing like you! I don't want anything to do with you! Leave me alone!"_

" _You sure that's how you really feel? What was it you called yourself, a "sniveling, cowardly murder" was it? Sounds a lot like you're good 'ol friend, Flowey!"_

" _No, it's not like that..."_

" _Then what?_

" _I want... I want to be good"_

" _Pfft, why?"_

" _Because... because it's the right thing, because it's what I should be, because mom says so, it's what Frisk would have wanted_ _"_

Asriel felt... something stir inside him, something right, something... determined.

" _Uhh, it's starting to get bit... crowded in here. Tell you what, why don't you get yourself ironed out, and we'll talk later, ok?_

" _You don't have anything to say to me"_

" _Aww, that's no way to talk to an old friend is it? Hehe, i'll be seein' ya, Asriel Dreemurr"_

The voice and presence receded back into his SOUL.

Asriel put a paw to his muzzle, there was the trace of tears, as there almost always was. But also... something else. His face felt... hard, stoic almost. As if he had just stared down a charging bull.

–-

Toriel had told him they we're going on a visit. Now, sitting in the car, driving towards the setting sun, he felt the time was right to ask.

" _Mom, where are we going?"_

Toriel reached a hand out to cuddle his cheek.

" _I think it is time you had something else to do, other than staying cooped up in the house all day. I think it would be good if you started preparing for the Crownquest"_

Asriel gasped, he hadn't heard that world in literally decades. Crownquest. The quest that every king-to-be in his family had gone on, a quest that was supposed to test the mettle of body and soul, of the one would claim to be the future king of monsters. It had been tradition for as long as monster history had been recorded, and had been abandoned entirely when they had been forced underground.

" _But mom, I can't fight!... And even if I could, I'd probably just fail..."_

 _Oh, my son, no true Dreemurr has ever failed the Crownquest, why should it start with you?_

Asriel didn't answer. He simply turned and stared out the window, into the encroaching darkness. He loved his mom, but she didn't understand. Even if he completed the quest and proved himself worthy to take his fathers place one day, he would surely lead his people to ruin. Politcs on the surface had been much more complicated and cutthroat than it had ever been in the underground, his father had told him so numerous times.

Still, it did sound somewhat exciting. A real quest, a chance to be a hero.

" _King Asriel Dreemurr"_ he whispered _"_ _Last of his name"_ _A voice from inside added._

–-

Asriel had expected there would be a lot of combat training. He just hadn't expected, foolishly, that Undyne would be his trainer. Now, standing in her garden-turned-sparring ground, clad in traditional training robes and wielding a quarterstaff, he suddenly found the title of _"_ _King"_ much less appealing.

Undyne and Alphys had moved in together, in a house much like his own, after the barrier had been broken, but with the Royal Guard much reduced in strength and numbers, and Alphys often gone to help on studies on the nature of SOULS, Undyne had used her spare time to train anyone she could get her fishy fingers on in the art of combat.

Her latest victim was poor Asriel.

" _So, Captain Shortstack, you ready!?"_ She called from the other end of the ground, energy spear in hand.

Asriel looked over his shoulder, to his mother sitting on the stands. A slight smirk of amusement on her lips.

There was no help to get from there.

Returning his focus back to Undyne, he spread his legs in what he assumbed would look like a combat stance.

" _Bring it on, sardine-soldier!"_ he called out.

A paw flew to his muzzle in shock. That wasn't him! Someone else...

" _Ah! I'm... I'm sorry Ms. Undyne, I didn't mean to-"_

" _Hah, whatever, ready or not, here I come!"_

Undyne flew at Asriel with lightning speed.

Asriel could do nothing but stand his ground, and prepare for a bad time.

And there would be a lot of those for the next 4 years, as Asriel prepared for the inevitable crownquest.


	4. Coming of Age

**So, here's a unique chapter that's actually not on AO3. While rewritting, I figured the timeskip seemed a little to drastic, and this was the result. Enjoy :)**

Asriel deftly deflected an incoming energy spear with his quarterstaff, before nimble sidestepping out of the path of another.

" _Not bad kid, but let's see how you handle this!"_

Undyne slammed a spear down into ground and threw another up in the air. Immediately, the ground around Asriels feet took a glowingly blue hue, and he could hear the ' _whoosh'_ of the airborne spears closing in. Taking a quick look around, he memorized the glowing spots before gazing skywards, ready to dodge the incoming projectiles.

His following display of evasiveness was enough to even make Undyne well up with pride. It had only been 4 years but already her newest charge showed incredible potential. Human SOUL or not, Asriel had proven himself to be an extraordinarily strong fighter. Perhaps, one day, even stronger than herself.

Nothing would make her more proud, she admitted to herself. Damn, she was a good instructor.

As Asriel continued to jump, leap and sidestep out of the way of the spears, Undyne made a small gesture. Out of the shadows, Dogamy and Dogaressa appeared, halberds in hand. She couldn't help but crack a sadistic smile as she noticed Asriels frown of concern upon seeing the 2 Royal Guards coming for him.

Dogamy closed in first, swinging his halberd in a wide sweep towards Asriel mid-section. The blades had, despite Undynes wishes, been enchanted to deliver a nasty shock rather than outright kill whatever it hit. Toriel had insisted on it, having almost fainted when she first observed the Royal Guards swinging live weapons at her son. Undyne had claimed that it was for the best, that nothing prepared one for a dangerous world more than dangerous training, but it had been pointless to argue with the former queen.

Asriel ducked under the incoming swing before rolling out of the way of a rising spear. To his side, he saw Dogaressa come at him with an overhead attack, he spun away and swung out with his quarterstaff, smashing it into the halberd and adding his own power to the downwards going momentum, lodging the halberd firmly in the ground. That would leave her out of the fight for a few precious seconds.

He felt, rather than saw Dogamy appear from behind, ready to strike. But if he remembered correctly, then just behind him...

Asriel lashed out with a backwards kick, hitting Dogamy square in the chest. He whined in shock and staggered back a few steps.

Right on top of a glowing blue circle.

The Royal Guard howled in surprise and confusion as one of Undynes energy spears suddenly sent him flying skywards.

In front of Asriel, Dogaressa growled in anger at seeing her mate defeated, and she doubled her efforts at wresting her halberd out of the ground.

Asriel casually reached out with an open paw to his side, and willed a protective magical aura to envelop it. He counted down from 2 and exactly when he reached 0, he closed his paw, felling his fingers wrap around of of Undynes spears that had poped up from the ground. The protective aura on his hand protected him from the burning energy as he was sent flying upwards.

With one final heave, Dogaressa wrestled her halberd out of the ground and looked around for her target. Prince or not, no one would hurt her mate!

But where was the prince?

She spun around, scanning for the telltale fluttering robes and cloak, but he was nowhere to be found. She couldn't even smell him.

She looked towards Undyne for help, but all she got was slightly amused grin.

Then she looked upwards, and Dogaressa felt a chill run down her spine. She followed to where she was looking and finally found her target, plummeting towards her at breakneck speed from above.

Asriel landed, feet first on her shoulders pushing her to the ground. As she crashed, Asriel deftly pushed his quarterstaff to her neck, softly enough that she could still breathe, but hard enough that she had trouble doing so.

To her side, she let go of her halberd in surrender.

Asriel let out a sigh of relief. He honestly hated having to hurt anyone, even for training purposes, but now at least, they were done for the day. He didn't really care that he had bested them.

He stepped off Dogaressa and offered a paw to help her up.

" _Are you alright, brave one?"_ he asked with sympathy.

Behind him suddenly came the loud crash of Dogamy returning to Earth. Dogaressa jumped up, practically knocking Asriel to the ground as she ran to her mate.

Asriel quickly got to his feet, intending to walk over to help when he felt hand on his shoulder.

It was Undyne. Her one eyes stared grimly. He shuddered as he almost felt her gaze bore into his SOUL.

" _That... was... AWESOME!"_ She suddenly shouted, scooping him up in a crushing bear hug.

" _If.. you think, urrgh, so!"_ Asriel managed to choke out as he was swung around like a ragdoll.

" _Oh c'mon! Where's your sense of martial pride!? You were like a damned superhero out there!"_ Undyne squealed.

Asriel chuckled quietly in response. He knew he wasn't a hero. At best he was a somewhat reformed villain.

But still, knowing that such great people as Undyne and others thought so highly of him...

It felt good.

Asriel left Undynes house, having changed from his training robes to a dark green hoodie and black pants, with a somewhat mixed mood. The training had gone well, Undyne was impressed and Dogamy & Dogaressa hadn't been too hurt.

Yet none of them had wished him a happy birthday.

He sighed sadly. He figured it was only natural of them to ignore such an event. He still remembered when he had entered the cave behind the throne room after Frisk had saved him. His parents had been... "overjoyed", Papyrus included, but that was just the way he was. Everyone else though... didn't take the news of his return so happily. Of course they had been happy at seeing the royal family reunited, but when they learned that they had lost the one human that had done the impossible and saved them all, and in return got a small goat kid almost none of them had ever met, their smiles quickly faded.

It wasn't that they hated him, he knew, they had just wanted Frisk more than him.

To his side he saw Dogamy and Dogaressa drive past him in their car, waving as they did so. Asriel waved back, wondering to himself how in the world the 2 colorblind royal guards handled the traffic lights.

In the distance, he heard the town bell ring 6'o'clock. Time to go home. That at least made him smile. He was hungry, and the thought of coming home to his mom, her food and a warm hug...

He began walking a bit faster.

When he arrived in front of the house, he felt cold disappointment spread trough his body. The windows were darkened, the covers drawn and the driveway empty. It was Tuesday, a work day, his mom must still be at work at school. She had left before he had woken up.

He sighed again. Feeling dejected and with slumped shoulders, he reached into his pockets to find his keys.

The inside of the house wasn't much better. Despite the setting summer sun still shining outside, the interior was dark. A darkness that seemed to mirror the one he felt inside himself. He really needed his mother, he was 18 today, practically an adult but he didn't care, he just needed someone, anyone to wish him a happy birthday, even a hug would suffice.

He felt tears in his eyes and a sad knot form in his chest. He wasn't even hungry anymore. He just wanted to go to sleep so he could move past this terrible day.

As he walked up the stairs to his room with heavy steps, tears trailing behind him, he thought back to his previous birthdays. At least those had been pretty good. Most of the kingdom would assemble in the town square to celebrate the royal child. sans, Papyrus and all the others would meet up at the Dreemurr household to hold a party for him. There'd be cake, music, gifts, smile and laughter. But most importantly, his birthday was one of the rare occasions he got to be with is dad. Asgore had been busy building relations with other human nations ever since they came to the surface. It was a job that took pretty much all his time, and which he never really wanted to talk about, but he always came for a visit on Asriels birthday.

But not today it would seem, even his own dad had either forgotten or figured he had more important things to do.

That proved to be almost too much, and Asriel let out an audible sob. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to give himself at least a semblance of comfort. He felt cold, lonely and afraid.

He finally reached the door to his room. His own little sanctuary, his own little pit of despair where wold suffer the rest of his birthday out alone.

As he opened the door, something intruded upon him. It was dark, but he figured the shapes in his room were wrong, almost as if-

" _SURPRISE!"_

Asriel let out a tear-choked bleat of surprise as he fell backwards unto his rump. The lights turned on and he had to briefly shield his eyes from it. Everyone was there, sans, Papyrus, Mettaton, Alphys, Toriel, Asgore even Undyne, who had somehow arrived before him.

As Asriel sat and stared in disbelief, he suddenly felt his mothers arms surround him. It was a soothing embrace, full of care and love, just what he needed. He still cried, but it was different tears now.

The day was turned completely on its head. Best wishes were exchanged, gifts were opened, cake was eaten, and most importantly company was enjoyed. At one point near the end of the festivities, his father had gently caressed his head, felling the small knobs of his growing horns. His father had stood stock still, as if completely frozen. Then, noiselessly, he had knelled down in front of him, eyes full of tears and lips quivering as he pulled him into a warm, loving hug.

" _Oh my angel"_ he whispered into Asriels ear _"I'm so happy to have you back. I'm so happy to be here, to witness this"_

Asriel was happy too and he wordlessly returned the hug. Wordlessly, but not silently, he was crying out of pure happiness as well.

As the last of the guests were leaving, Asriel went over the gift pile.

He had gotten a scarf matching the one Papyrus wore from the skeleton himself, sans had gifted him a plain bone, Undyne had given him him a bunch of weightlifting and training equipment, from Alphys came a stack of somewhat sketchy-looking anime DVD's alongside 8 different anime hair wigs. Mettatons surprisingly un-extravagant gift came in the form of a bunch of new clothes.

Nothing too special from anyone, but they needn't be. He was just so happy everyone had remembered him. They didn't even need to have brought gifts.

Tired, but happy, Asriel gave his parents one last hug before heading to his room for the night, leaving the 2 monster monarchs alone in the living room.

" _He sure has grown"_ Asgore said sounding absolutely blissful, while looking at the stairs Asriel had gone up.

" _He has, but I fear he still needs to find himself"_ Toriel answered.

Asgore sighed _"Do you really think it will be necessary? He looks fine and happy to me! He has nothing to prove"_

" _Outwardly perhaps, but I know all is not well with him... he had been crying when we sprung our surprise, Asgore"_

" _What!?"_

" _Which is why we need to do this, don't you see? He needs to see for himself what he is capable of"_

Asgore grunted in surrender. He knew she was right, of course. Asriel hadn't been doing so well these last few years, but now they had a plan.

It was a plan that irked him. It was a plan that required that they would have to lie and deceive their son.

But if it meant saving Asriel, then he would do it. A hundred thousand times if need be.


	5. The Return

Light, the rays of the sun shinning trough the blinds.

Morning.

The day after Asriels 18th birthday.

Which wasn't really true, seeing as he had technically lived longer than most adult monsters. But that was another life, in the past, and it didn't do well to dwell on the past.

Of course, that could be somewhat difficult when said past decided to dwell on one self.

" _Rise'n'shine, Azzy, you're tuned in to FLOW Radio, your number 1 source of fun, giggles and general bad advice. I have to say, it's a beauuuuu-tiful day for some casual "dusting" of the household, wouldn't ya say?"_

Asriel didn't answer, better just let the damn flower tire himself out, he usually kept quiet if he got bored.

" _Hey, that's right! You're 18 now! You're a legal adult in the human world! You can drink, you can drive, heck, why not do both at the same time?!"_

" _I don't drink"_ Asriel mumbled sleepily

" _Cuz you're a lightweight, I bet. Hey, that reminds me, shouldn't you be getting ready for your morning jog with the fish-face? Oh boy, I love the feeling of dread you get whenever she makes you run extra laps!"_

Asriel had tried ignoring the voice, but a few choice words made it trough.

" _Morning jog"_

" _fish-face"_

" _extra laps"_

Oh no...

Asriel practically leapt out of bed to his wardrobe. How could he forget? Every day since Undyne started training him had begun with a morning jog, which in Undinian translated into "Full-on power sprint" only stopping when Undyne said so. Sometimes it was 40 km, sometimes a mere 20, sometimes he had to dodge energy spears while running. The only constant was that I wasn't easy.

Asriel put on his training robes and stepped back. Undyne was probably waiting right outside the house. She would be expecting him to meet her there, dressed and prepared.

He would have to hurry, taking the stairs would take to long, he needed to go faster. A stupid plan but life or death situations is no place for rational thought.

He opened the window and vaulted out of the 2nd floor bedroom, falling a good 4 meters, rolling with the fall once he hit the ground to disperse the impact.

He quickly got up and looked around, no spear chucking fish in sight, perhaps he made it in time after all?

" _Stars! Are you alright, Asriel?"_ Toriels worried voice called out.

He spun around, finding his mother staring out the kitchen window, a pie cooling down in the window.

" _Ah, sorry mom. It's just, eh, the morning routine with Undyne, y'know"_

" _Oh, that's what all these theatrics are for?"_ Toriel let out a soft giggle.

" _You needn't worry, my son. Ms. Undyne came by earlier, she told me you had the day of"_

Now there was a sentence he didn't hear often. "day of". He hadn't had one of those since his crownquest training had started 4 years ago. Even that one time he acquired a bad food poisoning from one of Papyrus's experimental dishes he wasn't allowed a day of.

" _Oh, eh... that's a relief I guess. I'll just... I dunno, take a small jog around the neighborhood then"_ Asriel said, flustered.

Toriel smiled _"_ _Good idea, I'll be sure to have breakfast ready for when you return"_

–-

It was nice to be able to run at a normal pace for once. Not having a hollering Undyne around or objects thrown at him gave Asriel a chance to soak in the morning culture of Ebott Village, a neat little community lying I the shadow if it's mountainous namesake, a proof of the good work his father had done in easing the monster-human relationships. It was rare Asriel got to see his father, yesterday being one of the rare occasions. Asgore had been busy traveling around the surface world, establishing contacts, embassies and goodwill throughout most of the world. Asriel sighed, he hoped he could do just as good a job when he would take his fathers place, but deep down, he knew that wasn't likely to happen. He wished he could just stay a prince forever. Not that the crown meant much, monsterkind had no real autonomy, they were a puppet state in their host country. All his father really had to do, other than the diplomatic visits, were to rectify laws the human goverment imposed upon them so they suited the monsters way of life. They could't make they own laws, they simply had to find a way to make the human ones work. In truth, his father had done a great job. Surface life didn't prove that much different than the one Underground. Of course, that would all end when Asriel took the throne...

He shook off the dark thoughts, and cast another look around the area.

A lazy Friday morning, most were just now getting up, ready for the last stretch before the weekend. For the children it was even better; last day of school before the summer holiday.

That included Asriel in a way as well.

After the school incident 4 years ago, Toriel had talked with the other staff. They had all agreed that Asriel had to be punished somehow, but they were loath to expel such a promising student. Instead, he had been suspended from school until his final exams. An unheard of agreement of which his mother had no doubt played a hand in. In effect, he had been banned from going to classes, but still had to attend exams, and thus was still fully capable of graduating.

Which he would if he completed his physics exam today, he thought.

–-

" _Welcome home, my son, I trust you had a good jog?"_

He hadn't really, 6 km in 25 minutes, he didn't feel exhausted, he had barely even broken a sweat, Undyne would have grilled him if she had witnessed his performance.

" _Good enough"_ he answered.

" _I'm glad to hear it. I am off to work now, I have set up your usual cereal out in the kitchen, remember to clean up after yourself before you- oh dear! That's right! My little Asriel graduates today!"_ Toriel clapped her hands together, beaming from ear-to-ear.

" _Heh, A little too early mom, the graduation ceremony is next week, I just got one little exam to finish off today"_ Asriel answered, slightly flustered by his mother's sudden outburst.

" _Oh, my smart, clever little Asriel. That dumb little exam is as good as passed, because you are so clever, yes you are!"_ Toriel adopted a tone one would normally assume when praising a dog for good behavior, and begun teasingly pinching his left ear.

 _Ehhm, thanks mom, but shouldn't- shouldn't you be of to work or something?"_

Toriels eyes went wide _"_ _Good heavens! You are right, don't be late now, my child"_ Toriel placed a quick kiss on his left cheek, picked up her purse and left the house.

In truth, he supposed his mom had been correct, the desk in his room was littered with his previous exams, all marked with A++, and honestly, this one would probably go the same way. Yet still, Asriel couldn't help but worry, not because of the exam, but because most of the students would probably be there, on this last day before the summer vacation.

Including a certain human who 4 years ago, made him realize something about himself, something that almost made him commit the biggest mistake of his life.

" _Oohh! That kid! Look, when you kill him, make it quick, ok? If it wasn't for his little stunt you would have never sunk deep enough to allow me to, uhh, "get a-head" hehe."_ Flowey suddenly said.

" _I'm not going to hurt him. I'm just... I have to stand up to him, show him I'm not afraid anymore"_

Asriel replied calmly.

" _Aww, c'mon, the kid practically almost made you off yourself, and golly! Do you remember the things he said about your mom!? If I were you, I'd make sure he never talks_ _like that again!"_

" _Then I guess it's good you're not me, and never will be again"_

Asriel ignored Flowey's retorts, too intent on planning how it should play out. If memory served, Billy the Bully and his gang's stomping ground had been around the bench and water post, he could wait there after the exam, and hope The Bully would notice him and come to him, and...

Then he...

He would take it from there, Asriel guessed. It was entirely possible The Bully wouldn't even show up at all, but he had to hope, however fickle it may be.

He had hope.

–-

" _Well, cut my calories and call me skinny, if it isn't little momma's boy. Long time no see, you freak!"_ the human called out, flanked on either side by a crony.

Asriel almost couldn't help but laugh at how predictable it had been. He was the first to turn in his exam papers, almost bored to tears at the simplicity of the questions, and had barely waited for 2 minutes before Billy had showed up.

Billy had, like Asriel, grown quite a bit in the 4 years that had passed, but while Asriel had grown taller, leaner and more broad-shouldered, Billy had expanded in other ways, most noticeable was the considerable gut he now possessed, a stain of what looked like chocolate on his mouth a clue to the most likely reason.

Billy stopped up in front of Asriel, and raised his left arm, he was about as tall as Asriel.

" _Y'know, that little stunt you pulled 4 years ago? Left me with 3_ _rd_ _degree burns. I had to have my arm in gauze for a fucking month! D'you know how much that sucked!?"_

He pushed out with both hands to Asriels shoulders. Asriel, arms crossed, barely flinched.

" _Swear"_ Asriel muttered.

" _I – What?"_

" _You said the "F-word." You can't swear on the school grounds_ _"_

" _Yeah? What's it to you, freak!? Did'ya asshole mother tell you that?_ _"_

He pushed out again, harder this time, but as before, Asriel din't budge an inch.

Billy took a step back, everyone in the schoolyard was watching the spectacle now, and he was putting on a poor performance, he knew he had to turn it up a notch.

Asriel watched as Billy looked nervously around, right according to plan. His pride was hurt, now he would have no choice but to turn to violence to restore it. Asriel looked him over once more; he knew Billy was left-handed, so the blow would most likely come from there, it would also probably be directed at his face, just like last time. A punch fueled by anger, and hurt pride, he would almost definitely put more force and momentum into it than what was needed.

Perfect.

" _What's your fucking problem, man!?"_ Billy howled, as he threw a left straight punch.

But where Asriel's head used to be, now there was only air.

Instead, Asriel had made a quick dodge to Billy's left, left hand on the shoulder of the offending arm, and left leg placed on front of Billy's.

With a forceful push and sweep of the leg, Asriel utilized Billy's momentum to launch him into a somersault, and then crashing towards the ground. Just before he landed, Asriel shot his hand out, cushioning Billy's head from the concrete floor.

" _Whoa- wha-"_ Was all Billy could muster, as he looked up at Asriel.

" _Don't ever talk about my family like that again, or I wont be there to catch you next time"_ Asriel said coldly. He turned to leave, dropping Billy's head, but stopped after 4 steps.

" _You know... Billy... I used to know someone a bit like you. A sad individual, living on principles born of misguided contempt"_ he turned to smile at the still prone Billy _"_ _But he was saved, in the end, all he needed was a friend and a... helping hand. To show him back to the light. Please, if you ever feel like.. you need a do-over or second chance, go see mo- ehh, Toriel, alright? Or come see me, I'm always willing to help a friend in need_ _"_

And with that, Asriel left the school grounds, felling lighter than he had in years.

 **Don't worry, we'll get to the real action very soon :)**


	6. The Adventure Begins

**(The day before Asriels birthday)**

 _Ring, ring'_

 _'Ring, ring'_

 _'Ring, ri-'_

" _Howdy, Asgore speaking"_

" _Hello, Dreemurr"_

" _Tori? Golly, I_ _didn't expect you to call so soon, whats on your mind?_

" _You know very well what is on my mind. Have you thought our plan over?"_

" _Well, yes, but Tori-"_

" _Stop calling me that!"_

" _Woops! Sorry, my dea- Toriel, ehh, yes, I've given it some thought, but do you honestly think it's such a good idea?"_

" _Do you doubt our son?"_

" _I would never! But I do doubt the necessity of this crownquest. Tradition or not, I would proudly hand over the crown when the time comes"_

" _This is not about some musty old crown, you billy-goat! I told you as much!"_

" _I know! I know, I'm sorry... but can't we just... I don't know, talk it over with him? I've always found that there's very little a good cup of tea and a nice chat can't solve"_

" _We have tried for 4 years, Gorey"_

" _I know, I just hope he can forgive us when it's all over"_

" _We can worry about forgiveness when our son is saved"_

" _I suppose you're right... Ok, I'm in, I'll talk to_ _the others... Oh, and Toriel?... thanks"_

" _For what?"_

" _You called me Gorey just now, didn't you?_

 _'Clack'_

 **Present day**

Another glorious summer morning.

The sun was shining, the alarm clock was beeping 8:00. On mornings like these...

His mother was usually busy preparing breakfast, but a suspicious lack of smell of warmed bread, tea and cooked snails told Asriel's nose otherwise.

That was definitely strange. In all the 4 years he had lived on the surface, every morning had been punctuated by those homely aromas. But not today it would seem.

He got up out of bed and made for the door.

Summer vacation had just started, and yet he couldn't help getting up at morning jog time every day, Undyne's habit of supplexing him out of his bed, had left him with a chronic fear of oversleeping.

He made his way down the stairs to the living room. The house was altogether way too quiet. And yet someone was standing down there, someone he hadn't seen in a long time.

" _Uuh"_

"h _eh, what's the matter? Don't you know how to greet an old pal?"_ The skeleton, sans, said, with his trademark grin on his face.

" _Sorry! uhh, Howdy Sans, long time no see"_ Asriel replied hurriedly. Deep inside, he could feel Flowey tensing up.

" _uh huh"_ he replied, before giving off a whistle _"_ _Whelp, you look fit to run a country mile"_ he said, his face remaining completely unchanging.

" _Huh"_ Asriel replied before looking down. He usually still slept in a pajamas, but on these hot summer nights, he preferred going to bed only wearing his nightwear pants.

" _AH! sorry!"_ he said, before swiftly grabbing a shirt off a nearby chair, his cheeks blushing with embarrasment.

 _"_ _Now, uhh, to what do I owe the pleasure, sans? Want something to drink? Tea? Dad showed me how to make his favorite"_ Asriel said, silently hoping he would decline. He had never really warmed up to sans, not just because he had caused Flowey a fair amount of pain and resets in the past, and he had seen the extreme violence he was capable of, but also because he, like all the other friends Frisk had made during their time in The Underground, always had a hint of disappointment in their voice every time they talked to him.

He still remembered their stares the day he had walked into the cavern behind the throne room, after Frisk had committed the ultimate sacrifice to save him. While his parents had been overjoyed, practically screaming out of pure happiness, everyone else had looked saddened and confused when he had explained what had happened. Of course they were.

They had lost the one person that had single-handedly saved them all, and brought them all closer together, and instead they got this mini-version of Asgore and Toriel which most of them had never even heard of.

Of course they were disappointed.

Well, except for Papyrus, who was absolutely over-hyped by his parents show of affection, bouncing up and down.

" _no thanks, kid. I prefer my drink a bit more red and viscous. I, uhh, just came over to see Toriel, actually"_ He looked up at the ceiling, his face turning somber.

" _but_ _it looks like that won't be happening anytime soon..._ _"_

Asriels brow furrowed _"_ _Wha- what do you mean?"_ he asked

sans turned, and gestured to an opened letter lying on the kitchen table. Asriel stared at it.

" _What's that?"_ he asked

" _c'mon, it's not like im trying to 'goat' you into something here, go have a look"_ sans answered.

Properly motivated by sans humor, or lack thereof, he went to the table. The opened envelope read "For Asriels eyes only" annoyed by sans carelessness, he picked it up.

" _Privacy mean anything to you, sans?"_

sans smiled _"_ _sorry_ _kid, but I just had to 'priva-see' what all the fuss was about"_

Asriel groaned, the puns almost causing him physical pain. He picked up the letter... and froze on the spot as his eyes grazed the first sentence.

" _We have your family"_

" _If you wish to see them returned unharmed, follow these instructions carefully"_

" _Today, at 9:30 AM, a boat will leave Ebott village, headed for the island of Los sueños"_

" _Or, as you may know it; Monsterland"_

" _Be on that boat"_

" _We will contact you upon your arrival"_

" _Failure to comply will result in the termination of your father, King Asgore, and your mother, Former Queen Toriel"_

" _And the subsequent return of their dust via mail"_

" _That is all"_

Asriel was shaking like a leaf. A motion born of fear and anger. Tears were already filling up in his eyes, as the skin on the sides of his muzzle pulled back, revealing his teeth, giving him an almost beastly sneer of anger. Deep inside he could feel the flower laughing with glee, feeding the flames. But right now, he couldn't care less about the flower.

" _sans...when did you read this letter?"_ he asked, his voice slow and filled with malice.

" _when_ _I got here"_ the reply came, quick.

Asriel could feel his chest and face growing hot with anger.

" _And when was that?"_

" _about half an hour ago, give or take a few minutes"_ _sans said, shrugging._

" _THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU COME GET ME!?"_ Asriel howled and spun around, his hands and eyes ablaze with multicolored flames.

sans stood, still with same grin on his face and his hands in his pockets, looking completely unfazed by the raging boss monster in front of him.

" _well, I personally hate getting woken up by others, thought I'd extend you the same courtesy"_

Asriel was practically glowing with anger, how could someone care so little about his parents? Some of the most kindest people he knew, people who would always go out of their way to help others?

" _YOU... YOU BASTARD! I'LL... kill.. you?"_ Asriel said, the last few world suddenly sounding uncertain. He didn't mean to say that, the words had come unbidden.

" _is_ _that the weed or the prince talking?"_ sans answered back.

Asriel was ready to lash out, to unleash a torrent of fireballs and exploding stars of such magnitude that not even sans would be able to dodge it. Empowered by a human SOUL, he could level the whole house if he set his mind to it. And yet, his words struck a chord somewhere.

This wasn't him, he had never experienced anything quite like this, having his family's lives threatened and a supposed friend acting so careless about it. But still, being ready to kill at the merest provocation?

No, someone else was the culprit.

" _Flowey?"_ He thought.

" _You're a genius, idiot"_ The flower replied _"_ _So yeah, I might've stoked the coals a bit, but c'mon! You can end this smiley trashbag right now! Remember how many times he has killed us? And now just look at this! He doesn't give a damn about you or your parents! Just dust this idiot and lets be done with it!"_

Asriel could feel his rage rise once again, a surge of burning anger suffusing his SOUL. He knew it was wrong to hurt and kill other people, but this time... he really wanted to.

He pulled his arm back, a star wreathed in multi-coloured flame appeared in his hand.

Across the room, sans's eyes had turned dark, his hands had dropped out of their pockets and hung lax at his sides.

Suddenly, something else appeared within Asriel. A gentle, soothing wave of red that burrowed itself up from an even deeper plane of his SOUL than the one Flowey resided in.

" _Oh boy, look who's decided to join the fun, a damn party pooper!"_ Flowey said angrily.

" _Fr-Frisk?"_ Asriel whispered under his breath. He didn't receive an answer.

Slowly, he felt his rage subside, the fire in his eyes and hands fluttered out and died.

" _NO, NO, NO! COME ON! WE WE'RE SO CLOSE! JUST FLICK YOUR DAMN WRIST AND YOU CAN KILL THIS SORRY PILE OF PUNS! DO IT! PLEASE!"_ Flowey was screaming in his head, begging almost.

Despite the violence of Floweys outburst, Asriel found it calming. Something about denying the will of his past self brought him great satisfaction and relief.

Finally, his hands dropped down.

" _I... I'm sorry sans, I shouldn't have... y'know."_ Asriel said, looking down at his paws.

" _it's_ _alright kid, if someone did the same to my brother, I'd probably get a bit moody as well"_ sans answered, his grin unfaltering, his pupils had reappeared as well.

" _well, guess you're gonna be busy for a while. Cya"_ sans suddenly said, turning around to leave.

 _"Wait, what!_ _? Sans! You have to help me!"_ Asriel retorted, taking a step forward after sans.

Sans stopped, looking forward at the door to the outside " _sorry_ _kid, but, as you said, this is private matter, between you and your parents"_

" _But... we have to save them, sans!"_

" _YOU have to save them, kid"_ sans replied, rather brutish.

Asriels head dropped again, distraught. He couldn't save anybody on his own. No matter how much he trained with Undyne, he would never be someone that could save other people. He could never be a hero, like his parents, like Frisk.

Sans turned around _"_ _hey, don't take it like that kid, I care for your parents as well, and I would never see them hurt"_

Asriel looked up _"_ _Then why..."_

" _because_ _I know you can do it, no problem. there's_ _a lot of people whose hopes and dreams are riding on you kid, and believe me when I say that I don't think they have any reason to be nervous about you"_

" _sans..."_

" _that's_ _my name, not for sale"_

sans opened the door to the outside, but then cast one last look at the prince.

" _hey kid, I'm rootin' for ya"_ he said with a smile, and left.

Asriel stood alone in the house. He looked over at the clock, 8:32. He had a little less than an hour to reach the harbor on the other side of town, about 10 km away. His bicycle was at the repair shop, and he didn't have a drivers license yet, so he'd have to walk it.

Which suited him fine, he could probably make it there in 20 minutes if he went all out.

But still, he needed help, and the only other person he knew who could fight, other than his father, was Undyne.

He rushed over to the phone and dialed her number, trying to form a plan of attack in his head on how he would explain it.

" _Howdy Undyne! How's it going? Great, listen, I'm calling you because my mom and dad has been kidnapped and I could reeeaaalllyyyy use your help! Y'know, if you're not too busy, ehhm, could we meet at my place? That'd be great!"_

He went over his monologue a few time before he realized Undyne wasn't picking up. With a sinking feeling, he tried again, then again, then one last time.

" _Dang it..."_ he whispered. Undyne was the only one he could really trust in a situation like this. Alphys would probably be more scared than him, Papyrus would be glad to lend a hand but sans would most likely not let him. Mettaton could fight fairly decently, but his response would probably be to show up with a camera crew in tow, acting as if the whole thing was nothing more than a drama show.

Guess he had to go alone after all.

He quickly went upstairs and put on his training robes. It was a new set his mother had made for him, when Undyne's training had turned especially dangerous. Made from metalspider weave, and enchanted to be more durable than it looked, it was also completely fireproof and a lot warmer than one would think. Off the shoulder hung a long cloak emblazoned with the Delta Rune. This cloak was enchanted as well; when worn one could reach behind it and store a great amount of stuff, acting as an inventory on the go.

Properly dressed, he grabbed one last thing from his room, a quarterstaff hanging above his bed.

Undyne had initially wanted that he'd be trained in the use of a lot of weapons, spears and tridents first and foremost, but Asriel had declined, thinking that such weapons were way too dangerous. They were tools meant for killing and he would have no part in that.

But a quarterstaff was just fine. It was hard and blunt enough to hurt and incapacitate, but it was very unlikely to accidentally kill anyone with it.

Before he left the house, he went downstairs again to raid the kitchen. He didn't know how long the journey would take, so he'd best be prepared. He found a few slices of pie, some cans of peaches, a few fruits and a cinnamon bunny, storing it beneath his cloak. Not really enough for a long trip, but it would have to do.

Looking back at the living room one last time, Asriel left house, making sure to lock the door on the way out.

 **As stated in the first chapter, this is based somewhat on the Dreemurr Reborn AU, meaning Asriel, when clad in his robes, should look like this:**

 **post/130782921601/oh-the-usual-ive-started-coming-onto-my-own-as**


	7. Boatload of Trouble

**So, longest chapter so far, and our first piece of action. Enjoy :)**

* * *

 _Things were really not going according to plan, if the armed humans and angry glares were anything to go by._

Originally, the plan had all been an act, a constructed crownquest in which Asriel would have had to save his parents and friends, when in truth they had never been in danger at all. A ruse, a lie she admitted, but it had been for a good cause.

But that didn't go as planned. Someone had been waiting. An ancient enemy, the foremost foe of monsterkind.

Toriel looked around with shame. Asgore, Undyne, Papyrus and Alphys all laid bound and gagged, and it was all her fault. She had convinced them to go along the scheme. She had let them into the trap.

In front of them, on an elevated pedestal, upon an opulent and evidently ancient throne, sat their enemy. A human whose mere existence flew in the face of what was just and physically possible. The human leaned forward, looked at Asgore, and said in a mocking tone _"_ _Howdy! Long time, no see"_.

–-

Asriel ran as fast as he could, past confused monsters, well-kept gardens and down freshly paved streets. His claok trailed behind him and he figures that he would have looked absolutely ridicolous if he was anywhere else than Ebott Village.

He figured he could have taken a taxi, but in all honesty, he could probably make the 10 kilometers faster on foot. For the first time in his surface life, Asriel felt grateful for all those morning runs Undyne had pressed him into

" _WATCH OUT! CAR!"_ Flowey suddenly shouted in his head. Asriel instinctively jumped back, clearing a good 2 meters in a single jump. He looked around, there's weren't any cars in sight, in fact he was running down a dirt road, away from the streets.

" _Ha! Tricked ya!"_ the flower mocked him.

" _Dang it! Not now, Flowey. I have to hurry"_

– _-_

Asriel had made good time. He arrived at the docks with several minutes to spare, and had already bought a ticket. Expensive, but there were perks to being born into royalty. The Ebott dock weren't that big, so finding the correct ship had been no trouble. He took a deep breath. Los Suenos wasn't a especially happy place for monsters to go. They had history there, and so had the current human residents. It was safe to say that there was only few reasons for monsters to go there; the sun, the beaches and the mukva, a delicious food Ariel had had the pleasure of sampling, a few years ago.

He made his way towards the boat when a familiar voice suddenly rang out.

" _Yo, Azzy! That you? Wait up!"_ Asriel spun around, and found Monster Kid running towards him, a big grin on his big head. Just before he made it to Asriel, he performed his signature trip and faceplant. Asriel chuckled. Usually he'd lend a hand to the fallen monster and ask if they were ok, but he knew Monster Kid, he probably had the toughest noggin in the world.

" _Nice to see you too, MK"_ Asriel said, still chuckling. MK got up, no worse for wear.

" _Yeah, likewise. So what're you up to?"_ MK asked.

Asriel looked over his shoulder at the boat. _"_ _Well, uhh, I'm going on a trip to Los sueños actually"_ he replied. Should he tell him? No, better than as few people as possible got involved, MK most of all, he wasn't a fighter.

MK's eyes went wide _"_ _No way! Isn't that, like, where all monsters used to live before the war!?"_

Asriel chuckled happily again _"_ _Thats how the stories go, yeah"_

" _Oh man, that's so cool! Can I come with you!?"_

Asriel took a step back, flustered _"_ _I-I'm not sure that's such a good idea, ehhm, wha-what about your parents?"_ he asked, shaking.

" _Nah, ma and pop got into some kind of spat about where to go for vacation. They can go on like that for days, but if you're going for vacation as well, I can just come with you, right?"_

Asriel sighed. He knew the trip would likely be very dangerous, and bringing someone like MK along would probably only get them both in trouble.

But truthfully, he didn't want to go alone. He had already been alone for far too long. He liked MK, he had always been a bit of a stickler, and always needed someone to look up to. First Undyne, then Frisk and ever since he had beaten Billy the Bully, Asriel.

" _You know what? Sure! You can tag along"_

MK jumped with joy. He tried to word out how excited he was, but it sounded more like a squealing piglet

" _Well, lets get going then!"_ Asriel said and headed for the boat.

" _Yeah uhh, about that"_ MK started and looked at the ticket booth

" _Could I bum some change offa' ya?_

–-

MK was casually strolling down the cabin area hallway. He was usually more energetic in his movements, but the ships tossing and turning really didn't help with his already poor sense of balance.

Still, he didn't want to think about the 4 plates and 1 window his tripping escapades had already crushed, Asriel was his bro and he got him covered.

The thought quickly got him excited. Asriel, the lost prince, the one who shattered the barrier, the only monster to ever posses a human SOUL was his bro, and he was going on a vacation with him!

MK was practically bouncing down the hallway now, completely lost in thought about the adventures they were going to have.

The ship suddenly lurched sideways and MK's rambunctious rampage came to a halt. He lost his balance and banged his head against the steel wall. He quickly got up, no worse for wear. Ever since his mom dropped him down a flight of stairs as a baby, he had always been told he had the toughest noggin in the family, which, it turned out, had been quite a boon.

He gave the wall a quick look, a small crater had formed where his head had impacted.

" _Hmm, 3,4 centimeters deep, sorry pal, you don't quite make the top 3_ " he muttered to himself, and continued down the hallway.

Finally he reached his goal, cabin nr. 53, Asriels Suite, he could hear his voice from within

" _617...618...619"_

Without a seconds thought, MK opened the door.

" _Yo Az, whatcha' doing?"_ He asked as he stepped inside. He found Asriel in the middle of his apperantly 620th one-handed handstand pushup.

He suddenly stopped, standing completely still for a few seconds. Then, slowly, he got to his feet. When he spoke, it was with a growling voice, dripping with malicious intent.

" _You dare encroach on the royal cabin?"_

" _What? Uh, yeah, I guess"_ MK answered, flustered.

" _Your insolence will not go unpunished. I sentence you to..."_ Asriel said slowly, while calmly walking towards MK.

" _Yo, I'm sorry! I-'ll knock next time, I swear!_

MK had heard the stories about human SOULS and the effect they could have on monsters, and Asriel, as the only monster to ever have one, was proof of the validity of those stories. While he did look quite toned and muscular, MK knew he was actually way stronger than he looked, both physically and magically.

" _Extreme... ruthless... interrogation!"_ Asriel leapt towards MK, his hands engulfed in flames.

" _I'll tell you anything! Just don't - AHHHH!"_ he yelped as he curled together on the floor, awaiting the fiery punch. But nothing came, instead he could hear Asriel chuckling.

" _I'm just messing with you, here, get up"_ Asriel reached out his hand to MK, he held it there for a few seconds before he remembered MK didn't have any arms himself.

" _Oh, sorry"_ Asriel said, feeling awkward.

MK slowly got up _"_ _Az... that... was... AWESOME!"_ he burst out and started bouncing up and down.

 _Oh really? Looked to me like you were almost ready to cut and run"_ Asriel said, smiling.

MK looked down and kicked his feet in response. _"Yeah, well, I wasn't scared. Not really"_

" _Haha, I bet. But, uhh, about the "interrogation", what are doing here MK?_ " Asriel asked.

MK looked up.

" _Yo, just came say they're serving breakfast down on the sundeck right now. I had a, ahh, "run-in" with one of the waitresses, she told me"_ MK said, gesturing outside with his head.

" _Neat, I'll be right down then_ " Asriel answered and went to pick up his robes.

" _Allright! I'll go get us a table, see ya there!"_ MK quickly fired off, before turning and running out the door. He subsequently tripped on the carpet edge and faceplanted once more onto the hallway steel wall.

Asriel couldn't help but chuckle as he heard the familiar _"_ _Clang"_ from behind him, even more so when he then heard MK whisper _"_ _Man, only 2,3. I'm off my game today"_

Asriel walked back to his bed to pick up his robes. _"_ _Happy now, Flowey?"_ he asked out loud.

" _Not even close. Back in my day, we would've ripped him apart one limb at a time. That there was just a sad display, partner_ _"_ The disembodied flower answered.

Asriel sighed _"_ _Don't calle me that, and look, the deal was i'd indulge you once, and then you'd keep quiet for the rest of the trip"_

" _But you didn't. I don't feel "indulged"_ _"_

" _No, I'm not going to hurt anyone just because you say so"_

" _Then I guess the deal is off"_ Flowey said, sounding somewhat pleased

–-

The cafeteria on the sundeck wasn't exactly packed, but then again not a whole lot of people ever sailed to or from Ebott Village. Usually it was only monsters going on vacation or humans coming over to see the strange new monsters. In truth, the boat was way too large, but the royal committee had had a lot of money to spare when they build Ebott Village, and had splurged on an almost Cruise-ship sized ocean liner.

Asriel scanned the deck for MK, and found him waving with his head at him a few tables over. He went to move over to him, but quickly noticed the looks he were getting from the other passengers. It was to be expected really, the purple color of his robes and shoulder cape, and the emblazoned delta rune did make him stand out quite a bit, and as he moved towards MK, the attention he was drawing became ever more evident.

" _Good morning your highness!"_

" _OMG! Bratty, look! Thats, like, totally the prince!"_

" _Off to business with the humans, are we?"_

" _Woah! Mom! That's the guy! The hero who saved us!"_

Asriel responded with nods and polite remarks, all the while blushing more and more.

It felt... nice, to be recognized and with such fondness even.

" _Fun Fact Flowey here! Did you know you've killed everyone here at least once? 'cept for the humans, of course"_ The flower suddenly said.

Asriel winced at the painful reminder and stopped up" _Of course I do... I remember every single one_ " Asriel whispered, he felt damp around his eyes.

" _Hehe, hey now, don't get too sentimental, people are watching. Gotta keep up appearances..."hero"_ _"_ Flowey said mockingly.

Asriel let out a deep breath _"_ _You're a real jerk, you know that?"_ he whispered.

" _Takes one to know one. But come on now, you're starving! I can tell"_ The flower answered.

Asriel clenched his hands hard enough that his left-hand claws drew blood. Someday, he would get rid of this weed for good. He regained his posture and resumed his walk towards MK.

He arrived at MK's table, a plate of steaming snails already waiting for him.

" _Yo, check it, I totally got you your favorite dish!"_ MK exclaimed practically beaming with pride from across the table.

" _Hah, that's awfully nice of you MK"_ Asriel responded and raised an eyebrow _"_ _But, ehh, how did you know snails was my favorite?"_ he asked.

" _Oh, that? Well, mom always used to say I got eyes as thick as my skull, I'm a good observer"_ MK responded, and laughed softly.

Asriel joined in, as to not make the conversation awkward _"_ _Hehehe... wha-what does that mean?"_ Asriel asked, eyebrow still raised, but a friendly smile on his face.

MK tensed up _"_ _Ehh, nothing, nothing at all, just, ehh, y'know... say, how're the king'n'queen doing? Still kicking butt internationally?_ MK quickly fired off.

Asriel looked down, apprehension building in his chest. He had to come clean at some point of course, but how to explain it?

" _Well, you see... I haven't been completely honest with you MK. My parents, they- woah, hey are you ok?"_

MK had taken on an almost greenish hue, his eyes were watering and his lips curled inward.

" _Yah, I'm fine"_ he wheezed, sounding as if he was anything but.

" _You sure? You look... sick"_ Asriel said and began rising from his chair.

" _I'm fine! Just, hurry up and say what you have to say, I might pass out any minute now"_ MK whezzed again, his voice almost sounding like it was bubbling.

" _Wha- Pass out!? MK, what's wrong? Do you need help?"_ Asriel asked with worry.

" _Urrgh... well, I'm actually, y'know, kinda... slightly... allergic to snails...?"_ MK whezzed out, almost melting into his chair.

" _Then why are you eating it!?"_

" _Because... you're like, y'know, cool... and you like it, so I thought I..."_

" _Oh, for crying out loud, MK! We need to get you to the restroom ASAP. Here, can you stand?"_ Asriel asked and offered his hand.

 _NO! I'll do it myself!"_

 _But MK..."_

" _No, it's alright. I'll be *burp_ _ *****_ _right back, ohhhh"_

MK got to his feet and bolted for the restroom, doing his best to hold back the floodgates. As was his want, he knocked over 3 tables and a waitress before tripping and faceplanting just 2 meters shy of the mens restroom.

Asriel collapsed back into his chair and sagged. Why did people around him always end up like this? He knew MK would probably be fine, but his was just the latest example. Ever since monsterkind had returned to the surface, their mortality rate had risen dramatically; mostly due to human attacks but also because of new diseases and not realizing that surface animals lige tigers and crocodiles weren't just other monsters with a foul mood.

He had given them the surface back, but at what cost and consequence?

And here was Monster Kid, who had been nothing but cheery and helpful, and how did he repay him? By lying to him, and now by apparently just liking snails.

Sometimes it felt like whatever he did, he just ended up doing more hurt than good.

" _Prince Asriel Dreemurr?"_ A deep voice suddenly came from behind.

Asriel turned to face the voice. Behind him stood a tall, smirking, muscular dark-skinned human wearing a black T-shirt, beige cargo pants and shades.

Asriel got up from his chair and put on a friendly smile, despite his mood _"_ _That's me, can I help you?"_ He greeted the human, offering his paw.

The man nodded _"_ _Yes, I believe you can"_ He sat down in MK's chair, ignoring the paw-shake, across from Asriel. For a full 15 seconds he just sat and probably stared at him, it was hard to tell with him wearing shades.

Asriel shifted awkwardly in his seat _"_ _So, ehh, wh-what_ _can I do for you?_ " he asked, trying to sound as polite as possible.

The man smirked and chuckled _"_ _You know, you look just like your dad did when he was your age"_

Right now though, Asriel just looked like a big question mark.

The man leaned back in his chair _"_ _But, to the matter at hand. I work for a powerful individual that would very much like to see the monster royal line discontinued"_

Asriel blinked a few times and shook his head a bit. The whole conversation had taken a very weird turn. He had expected an invitation to a human noble family dinner, or perhaps even an interview which was the usual whenever humans approached him. He really hadn't seen this coming.

" _I-I'm sorry, but-_ " Asriel started before he was interrupted.

" _Come now, it's not like you actually want to be king, right? And even then, your royalty don't hold any real political power so it's not like it would change anything if you gave up on your crownquest"_ The man said almost sympathetically.

Asriel looked away. This was getting very tense. It was all true, Ebott village and the land it was build on were still technically the property of their host country, and his dad was pretty much a king in name only.

But how did this man know about his feelings on the matter? And about the crownquest? And was this whole escapade his? He hadn't even considered that.

" _In return, we'll release your parents and friends_ " the man subtly added, almost as an afternote.

Asriel's head snapped back to him. The man was still smirking, clearly enjoying himself. What did he mean by "friends"? Had all the others been taken as well?

" _What?"_ Was all Asriel could muster.

" _Quite simple, you refuse the crown, meaning the royal line ends with your father and we give you your friends and family back"_

Asriel stared wide-eyed. He felt his lips curl back in anger, but he kept himself in check. Honestly, it sounded like a pretty sweet deal. He would surely make for a poor king and now he had the option to make sure he never would be, and save everyone in the process, 2 birds with 1 stone really.

The answer was obvious.

" _Not a chance, buddy_ " he said with steely determination, surprising himself with the confidence with which he said it. He suspected someone else was helping him.

The man, however, looked completely unfazed save for his smirk. He nodded understandingly and rose from his chair.

" _I was honestly hoping you'd say that. You see, I was ordered to ensure you would never reach Los sueños"_ He put his hands together and cracked his knuckles _"_ _By any means necessary"_

Asriel looked up angrily at him _"_ _I'm not going to fight you, and nothing you can do is going to make me give up on this_ " He got up from his chair and made to leave.

" _Raul, you got the lizard in your sights?"_ The mans voice suddenly came.

Asriel froze and looked back. The smirking man was staring at him and holding a finger to his ear. Asriel noticed he had a microphone stuck to it.

" _Do it"_

Asriels eyes went wide with fear. He leapt at the man and reached his hand out _"_ _NO! WAIT!"_ He yelled.

The man took a step back and help up a finger at Asriel _"_ _Belay that, Raul"_ He looked at Asriel with an ever-widening smirk. _"_ _So, come to your senses yet?"_

" _Leave Monster Kid out of this! It's me you got a problem with, right?"_ Asriel growled angrily.

The man shrugged his shoulders _"_ _Technically, we got a problem with all of monsterkind, but you know the saying "Cut the head off and the body dies"... It's something like that"_

Asriel didn't answer. He could feel his anger rising. If this guy had so much as thought about hurting his friends, there'd be hell to pay.

" _Follow me, your highness"_ the man said tauntingly, and made a mocking bow before turning around and walking towards an open space on the sundeck.

Asriel followed. The sundeck had gone quiet and he noticed how all the other passengers, mostly monsters, were watching them.

The man reached the middle of the open space and turned around. _"_ _So, here's how we're gonna do it. I'm going to beat you until you either A) accede to our demands, or B) Die. Either way suits my objective"_ he said nonchalantly.

Asriel felt a lot of things: Anger, fear, panic, excitement. He could easily reach out with his hand and destroy the man with a quick burst of magic. But no, he was done with killing forever. He would have to fight him, but no matter what, no one was going to die here. He would make sure of that.

Asriel raised his hands.

" _Alright, I accept your terms"_ He said and assumed a stance.

The mans smirk turned into a full-blown smile. _"_ _Excellent, I hear you're no pushover so this should be fun"_

The man took off his shades. To Asriels surprise, his face and eyes looked deeply saddened and angry.

" _I can't believe you! I thought you Dreemurr's were honest folk!"_ the man suddenly shouted _"_ _First you evict my family from our house so you can build your castle there! Then you arrest my friends when they try and protest and now, now you're telling me humans aren't even allowed aboard this ship anymore!?"_ The man was now practically in tears.

Asriel was stunned. What the heck was this all about?

" _What are you talking abo-"_ Was all he managed before he noticed the mutterings coming from the other passengers, along with disapproving and disappointed glares.

" _Would they really do that? Figures. The whole construction did go surprisingly fast"_

" _Mom! I read on the internet that the Dreemurrs have a private torture chamber in their castle! Is that true!?"_

" _Eww, I never would have guessed the prince would be such creep and a jerk... still, good-looking, though._

He turned to look at them. _"_ _No! I'd never-"_ A heavy blow landed square on the side of his muzzle and he recoiled back, his one hand nursing a split lip.

Asriel looked up at the man.

" _I'll make you pay for all you have done! You evil creature!"_ The man shouted. He looked absolutely livid, but beneath the tears Asriel noticed a triumphant smirk.

The bastard was trying to turn his people against him.

" _Hey, Azzy, as much as a like watching you getting your clock cleaned, may I remind you that I'm in here as well? You can worry about your audience later, for now just focus on the actor here"_ Flowey suddenly said from within.

As much as he hated it, he had to agree with his alter-ego. He returned to his stance and gave the man a more thorough look.

Smirkman

ATK: 70 DEF: 70

 **A Smirk not even a mother could love**

 _Remember, it's always kill or be killed_

Asriel shook his head in surprise. 2 voices had just appeared in his head. One was clearly Flowey, but the other one was one he hadn't heard in many years. Could it be...

He regained his focus. The mans feet were placed at shoulder-width distance from each other. Right foot at the back pointing right, while his left foot was more in the front, pointing forwards. Both placed at a near perfect toe-heel alignment line from each other

His hands were raised in 2 curled fists. Both thumbs tucked deeply in between his other fingers so the thumb knuckle became more extruded.

His arms were placed well in front of his face which was was looking slightly downwards. Well protected by his guard and forehead.

Conclusion: The smirking man was a trained boxer.

Undyne had told Asriel about the humans and their so called "Martial Arts". At first, Asriel had been confused, why would anyone develop so many different ways of fighting when peace was much better? Monsterkind really hadn't anything to compare it with, seeing as fighting was a mostly foreign concept to most of them. Luckily, Undyne had studied up on most of these "arts" when they had reached the surface and had passed that knowledge onto Asriel.

" _Are you going to teach me any of these, Auntie Undyne?"_ He had asked _"_ _Sure am, squirt_ " Undyne had replied.

" _Golly, but there's so many! I don't know which one I wanna learn... or if I even want to. I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt because of me_ _"_

" _Listen here, punk. I'm only gonna teach you one, and that's your own. In the end, all you really need to know is how to throw a punch and how to duck a punch. All these humans and their martial arts might talk about how theirs kicks the most ass or theirs is the most refined. But there's one thing they all forget. Learning and fighting with judo, boxing, karate and what have you might make you a stronger fighter, but..."_ Undyne had leaned forward and looked Asriel straight in the eyes _"_ _It Also makes you predictable"_

Asriel remembered the lessons about boxing. Fast, quick but powerful punches supported by precise and elegant footwork. He would have to watch his arms for attacks, but if he could read the mans leg movements, he might be able to predict him.

The man launched forward again, but this time Asriel was ready.

The man unleashed a series of combos and punches. He was fast, but not as fast as Undyne's training spears, and Asriel neatly dodged, ducked or side-stepped all of them. Undyne had repeatedly stressed the point that he should try, if at all possible, to avoid blocking a human attack. Humans generally had a high amount of LOVE and a single slap, even if blocked, could potantially break his arm.

Noticing he was not making an impact, the man made a small jump backwards, guard still raised.

" _Hey Azzy, you're gonna have to do_ _more than just play the defensive game if we're gonna win this! Let me take the wheel for a minute, I'll make this guy cry for his mommy in a minute!"_ Flowey offered.

" _No thanks_ " Asriel muttered under his breath.

He had him figured out. The man was a quite formidable fighter, but he had made one mistake.

He had a pattern.

He would focus his strikes on Asriels face, and then work his way downwards towards his stomach, making Asriels switch his focus lower, and then, when he was concentrating on dodging attacks aimed at his lower body, the human would make a quick lightning jab towards Asriels now undefended head.

It hadn't worked yet, Asriel had dodged it all, but he was still trying.

Asriel just needed to make him give it one more attempt.

" _What's the matter? You like "hitting" on goats or what?"_ Asriel taunted, channeling a bit of his inner flower.

The man sneered in contempt and quickly stepped forward to resume his assault. Just as Asriel had hoped, the man fell into his pattern again, faster and stronger now, but that would only work to his advantage.

There it was, he lightly turned his body away from a right hook aimed at his ribs, followed by a left jab going for the area around his belly button.

The man suddenly shifted his feet, threw his left shoulder back and launched a lighting haymaker aimed straight at Asriels face. It was fast enough that Asriel couldn't possibly have dodged it... if it weren't for the fact he knew it was coming.

Asriel leaned his body to the left, he could feel the wind on his cheek as the mans outstretched hand sailed right past his head.

Asriel quickly responded with an uppercut that went under the mans assaulting limb and then upwards, smashing squarely into his chin.

The man staggered back, but was quickly struck again, this time in the face by a heavy right hook from Asriel.

The man recoiled even more backwards but quickly regained his posture. He managed to somehow look both surprised, angry and scared at the same time.

Asriel relished in his small victory, but he knew he had to be careful. If he punched him with all his strength, he could easily knock his head clean off.

" _GAH! FUCK YOU!"_ The man screamed.

He took a big step forward with his left leg, and that was all the information Asriel needed. The man would use the momentum garnered from his step with the left leg to launch into a far-reaching right-hand strike. A move called a "Stinger" if he remembered Undyne's lessons correctly.

Asriel took a quick steep to the left and was once again rewarded with a gentle breeze on his cheek. Asriel responded with a heavy punch to the mans ribs.

The man gasped in pain and doubled over, completely stunned from the impact. Asriel promptly grasped the back of the mans head and pushed it downwards, right into Asriels rising knee, which collided with the mans forehead.

The impact was hard enough that a crunch could be heard across the entire deck, as well as making the man fly almost a full meter into the air before landing hard on his back. He stayed on the floor completely unmoving and without breathing.

Asriel gasped and his hands flew to his mouth. Panic started to fill him, he hadn't meant to put nearly as much power into the knee as he had.

" _Hey, we we're going to beat his ass anyway, I just sped the process up a bit. You can thank me later_ " A happy sounding Flowey quipped.

Asriel felt a deep dark pit in appear in his stomach, and tears started to fall freely from his eyes.

" _No...no... not again... I'm not a murderer... I didn't mean to..."_ He fell to his knees, whimpering. He could hear the other passengers.

" _Oh my god... what has the prince done!?"_

" _Mom, why did Asriel kill that poor human?"_

 _"Looks like the apple fell far from the tree"_

" _Did you see that Catty!? Asriel straight up murdered that guy!... Hey, you think I can have his SOUL?"_

Asriel crawled towards the man, he had to do something! He to save him somehow! He picked up the mans hand and felt his wrist.

No pulse.

He put 2 fingers on the mans throat

No pulse.

Asriel felt a deep despair build within him.

He had once again murdered someone.


	8. Collapse

**A somewhat short chapter I realize, but don't worry, most will be longer :)**

* * *

" _How, in all that is good and just on this earth, are you still alive?"_ Asgore asked, voice trembling with anger. He tried to appear intimidating, but his kneeling position and him being in chains made it rather difficult.

The human on the throne leaned back and took a deep breath. _"_ _That is... quite a long story, and one I need not tell you... yet"_ the human said with a cold smile.

" _Please, I know it's me and my husband you're after, so leave the others out of this!"_ Toriel interjected and gestured to the other monsters.

The human frowned _"_ _Oh, I don't want to kill anyone if I can help it. Believe it or not, I have nothing but the utmost respect for your kind"_

" _Then, why?"_ the 2 Dreemurrs said almost simultaneously.

The human chuckled _"_ _Because you have something I need"_

He leaned forward.

 _Or, rather, your son have"_

* * *

Asriel was shaking all over. His arms wrapped around himself as he tried to control his shaking brought about by the unfathomable despair overtaking him, staring at the no-longer smirking or breathing human.

He could hear the other passengers calling for a doctor, but he paid them no mind, he couldn't. Horrific, shameful memories of his past murders flooded his mind. This wasn't the first time he had killed someone, but it was the first time he ever had the ability to feel absolute remorse and regret in the heat of the action. Carefully, he started to let go of the sleeves of his robes.

Instead, he crawled over to the human. He folded his hands over the mans chest in preparation for CPR. His attack had clearly caused a skull fracture, so he didn't know if CPR would even help in the slightest, but he had to do something and his mind was too fumbled by fear to fully function.

His shaking made it hard to do it, but he finally managed to interlock his fingers correctly, and was about to press down when he felt a sudden, powerful surge course trough his arms.

" _NO!"_ he yelped and swiftly pulled his hands back towards himself, the down-press hard enough that it smashed trough the floorboards, a mere inch away from the mans chest.

" _Oh, c'mon! It's not like he can die anymore! I'm just making sure he doesn't come back, certain humans have a tendency to do that, y'know"_ the flower said, annoyed.

Asriel didn't have the strength to answer back. He knew he couldn't control himself if it came down too it, he was too dangerous. As long as the flowery demon remained a part of him he was a danger to everyone else.

Flowey snickered _"_ _Can't control it, huh?... that actually gives me an idea_ "

He took a deep breath.

And then proceeded to list off every murder, betrayal and lie Asriel had ever done. Both in his flower form and true form. Every little sin he had ever committed.

Asriel, already on the brink, finally lost his grip on his own mind.

* * *

The other monster passengers were in a state of disbelief. While none of them really knew Asriel personally, they had all heard the stories of the peaceful, kind-hearted prince that had shattered the barrier alongside the human and saved them all. And the few times anyone had ever met him he had always appeared to be so nice and polite, if a bit shy and distant.

Which was why the sight of him so easily overpowering and killing a poor, misunderstood and saddened human had caught them all of guard.

A team of medics finally arrived and brushed past the spectating passengers over to the man. Asriel had gotten to his feet and was staring at the body, his face a macabre, twisting mess of changing visages; anger, fear, sadness, regret.

Suddenly, he turned and walked towards the passengers. Those monsters with kids hurriedly ushered them to safety behind their backs, and everyone else gave the fallen prince as wide a berth as possible.

Only those standing the closest noticed his now jet-black eyes.

* * *

Raul stood, cigarette in hand and waited. He couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the armless lizard kid he was tasked with keeping an eye on. Anyone able to make those kinds of sounds that came from the restroom were clearly having a bad time.

At least it sounded like the job had been done. The commotion and sounds coming from the sundeck had ceased a few minutes ago. If all went well, they'd either have a signed contract enforcing the dissolution of the monster royalty, or a jar containing the princes SOUL to present to their boss, and then...

He heard a sound coming from the door to the sundeck, and looked up.

He expected to see his comrade coming to get him.

He didn't expect to see their target coming at him, eyes darker than onyx and horrific, rotten vines snaking out of his mouth, nostrils and eyes.

" _Holy shit!"_ Raul muttered panicky. He reached behind his back for his knife. All he needed was one good stab with an intent to kill to send the demon back to whatever hell it had spawned from.

His hand clutched around the handle of his knife and he immediately stabbed it at the monster, with speed and strength born of fearful desperation.

The demon returned the gesture by nimbly batting his knife-arm away with his own, and then shattered his elbow joint with a simple, quick punch.

Raul gasped in pain and staggered backwards. This couldn't be right, monster were supposed to be physically waker than humans, yet the punch had felt like a brick! He didn't get much time to comprehend just what the demon had done to him, as it immediately grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall behind him. He struggled for breath as the paw around his throat lifted him, one-handed, above the floor, back to the wall. The knife, which had been thrown into the air when his arm broke, was then effortlessly caught out of the air by the demon, without looking even.

Raul would have thought it looked extremely badass, if it weren't because he was pretty sure he was about to die.

The satyr-like demon prince placed the knife at his throat, and slowly opened its muzzle into a wide grin, filled with numerous needle-sharp fangs. Its breath stank of rotten weeds and compost.

" _Howdy"_ it said in an eerily cheerful manner. _"_ _Looks like you dropped something. Oh, and look at that arm of yours! Poor thing, let me give you your knife back"_

Raul whimpered as he felt the knife dig deeper into his throat.

* * *

The world was an impossibly large expanse of white, as far as the eye could see and beyond. Somewhere, in the midst of it, sat Asriel. Knees hugged to his chest, and shoulders heaving with mournful whimpering and sobbing. He was fully aware that his Flowey alter-ego was in possession of his body, but he didn't care, he didn't want to care. Its not like it made a whole lot of difference who was in control, the end result was the same; people got hurt because of him. Flowey was at least honest about it.

He could dimly hear the sound of a human pleading for mercy, voice mangled by absolute horror. The urge to stand up and do something to help the human flooded into Asriel, but he knew there was nothing he could do, Floweys grip was too strong and he lacked the strength and confidence to break it.

Yet again, Asriel, or at least someone playing the part more truthfully than he ever would, was about to kill.

Asriel sank into himself once again, dark lines treading down his cheeks where the tears had traveled. He should have been left at that flower patch, he should have been forgotten. He was the most powerful monster in existence, yet he lacked the strength to save others, he had proved that time and time again. All he could do was hurt and disappoint. He was a weak, sad thing that should just have remained forgotten and alone. If Frisk hadn't been so kind, so brave, so... idiotic as to save him, none of this would have happened.

" _Idiotic? Really? You give yourself far too little credit, Azzy"_ an old but familiar voice said.

Asriel looked up, not believing his ears, and then not believing his eyes, but there they were.

His savior.


	9. Recovery

_Asgore was bristling with barely contained rage "_ _I swear, if you as much as lay a finger on Asriel, I will make you regret ever being born!"_ _he shouted at the human on the throne._

The human raised an unimpressed eyebrow _"_ _Would you now? I'm sorry to say this, "your highness", but I don't think you'll find me as easy a target as those children_ _you so heroically slew"_

Asgore gritted his teeth and looked away.

The human settled in on his throne _"_ _I expect it will still be quite a while before our guest of honor arrives, so how about a little story to pass the time?"_

The human clasped his hands together and spoke in a slow, almost soothing voice _"_ _Once upon a time, 2 races lived on the surface; Humans and Monster. The human king deeply cared for his people, and thus sought to see them ascend. To do this, he delved into experiments both promising and, some would say, damning. Because of that, the war between humans and monsters began..."_

* * *

Asriel stared dumbfounded at the apparition in front of him. They still looked like they did 4 years ago.

Frisk cocked their head to the side _"_ _What's with the staring? You look like you've seen a ghost"_ They said with a smile.

Asriel slowly opened his muzzle, trying to say something but his words finding no leverage _"_ _Fr-Frisk... I- I... what?"_

His mewling was silenced as Frisk stepped forward and enveloped him in a warm hug. _"_ _God, I've missed being able to do this!"_ They said with a quivering voice.

Asriel barely managed to snap out of his befuddlement, and returned the hug _"_ _Yeah... I've missed you too, more than you can imagine"_

" _Then why..."_ Frisk began, and pulled away, only stopping to look Asriel directly in the eyes. _"_ _Are you doing this?"_ They finished.

" _Wh-what?"_ Asriel stammered. Frisks answer was to simply point upwards. Asriel followed, and his heart sank at the sight. Above them, in what would be the sky, they could clearly see what Flowey was doing with his body, mercilessly tormenting and torturing a clearly terrified human.

" _You know, I didn't give you my SOUL just so you could surrender it to a psychopath"_ Frisk said, a hint of disappointment in their voice.

Asriels face fell _"_ _I- I know, but... I can't break his grip, I'm not strong enough, I'm just a weak pathetic crybaby. I-"_

Asriel felt Frisk grab his hands, and pull them to his chest. _"_ _As I said, you give yourself far too little credit, Azzy"_

Asriel looked up with tear-stained eyes. Frisk had a warm smile on their face as they continued _"_ _Do you know what your dad once called me? "The future of all monsters""_

Asriel grimaced, but still couldn't help but smile _"_ _Yeah, I know, I was... kinda there"_

Frisk chuckled _"_ _Oh right, I suppose you were. But my point is, you were also once called that, along with... Chara"_

Asriel looked away. He remembered. It all seemed so long ago, and it probably was. It was hard to tell what with all the resets he had done.

Frisk continued _"_ _The future I helped secure was the one_ _in which monsterkind could go free. But I'm dead now, and so is Chara. There is only one person alive that represents the future of all monsterkind"_

Asriel steeled himself and made ready to protest. He knew what they were going to say, but he knew the only future he could provide for his people was one of ruin. How could someone too weak to even control their own body ever be considered worthy enough to be a king? Or even prince?

" _You"_ Frisk finished.

" _Frisk, I-"_ Asriel tried.

" _YOU shattered the barrier, YOU sacrificed yourself so everyone could go free, and YOU were the one holding back when Chara wanted to kill all those people. Are you honestly telling me you're too weak to fight Flowey? I'm sorry Asriel, but you make a very poor liar"_

Asriel smiled at her words. It was praise he was used to hearing, from his parents or documentaries and books dedicated to modern monster history, but it had never felt quite this... sincere and true. Frisk had been in the middle of it all, and few would know better what he had goen trough.

Perhaps he did give himself too little credit.

He took a step back, feeling like an immense weight was lifted off his shoulders.

" _So, are you going to keep crying while someone ruins the future, or are you going to do the right thing?"_ Frisk asked.

Asriel smiled, wider than he had done in a long time _"_ _Thanks Frisk, don't worry, I won't let_ _everyone down, I promise"_

Frisk returned the smile _"_ _I know you wont, bro. Now go show that weed who's boss!"_

Asriel turned his head upwards and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and peered deeply into himself. There he found a sickly root, and with great vigor, he grasped it.

* * *

Raul laid whimpering on the floor, crying amidst the smell of soiled underwear, blood and rotting compost. He just wished this horrible demon would end it already.

He felt its hand grab at his throat and it hoisted him up one-handed. The hair of the fur feeling like hundreds of needles, and the claws digging into his skin like cruel butcher hooks.

" _Ahh, such fun we've had, but now playtime is over. You will die, and your SOUL will be mine!"_ The demon prince glowered and cackled manically.

He felt the hand around his throat tightening, threatening to snap his neck. At once, he felt relief that the pain would finally end, and fear of what would comes afterward. Having your SOUL absorbed didn't sound too good.

He choked as the demon continued its mad laugh, and it's iron-vice grip. But then, suddenly, a great shudder went trough the demon, and it dropped him to the floor.

He dared to look up, and found the demon prince staring angrily at it's paw, as if it had just told it a great insult.

" _DON'T RUIN IT NOW, AZZY! I ALMOST GOT US ANOTHER SOUL, YOU IDIOT!"_ It howled.

It suddenly lurched forward, as if punched in the gut, and fell to its knees. _"_ _GET... OUT!"_ it said, but this time with a new voice, a voice sounding more normal, and less evil.

Raul started to scamper away, all the stories he had read about monsters didn't even come closer to prepare him to this. His hand suddenly found something sharp on the floor and he looked down, finding his knife between his fingers. He grasped the hilt and picked it up. Looking over at the demon, he found it still struggling with whatever had come over it, oblivious to the world around it. An idea crept into his head. He could finish the job right here, right now.

* * *

Asriel couldn't see what was going on, stars were raining down all around him, exploding upon snaking vines, which shriveled and withered under the barrage. Yet despite the visual confusion, he could feel his struggle with Flowey, like a spiritual tug-of-war, and he could feel that he was slowly gaining control back.

First his right hand, then his arm, then most of his torso. It was like trying to put on a devilish pajamas that really didn't want to be put on, but he was slowly getting settled in.

Somewhere close to him, he sensed a furious consciousness. _"_ _YOU PATHETHIC IDIOT! DON'T YOU SEE!? WITH MORE SOULS WE COULD BECOME GODLIKE! WE COULD WIPE THESE FILTHY HUMANS OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH! WE COULD LEAD MONSTERKIND TO AN AGE OF PEACE OF PROSPERITY! WHY DO YOU INSIST ON MERCY WHEN ALL IT HAS EVER BROUGHT YOU IS MISERY AND PAIN!?"_ It howled at him, as its grip slowly but surely weakened.

Asriel turned his focus towards the presence, eyes closed _"_ _I am Asriel Dreemurr, Son of Toriel and Asgore Dreemurr, Prince of all Monsters, shatterer of The Barrier, Bearer of the Human SOUL and the future of all monsters._ _And you"_ his eyes sprung up, blazing like infernos of multicolored fire _"_ _ARE NOTHING!"_

With one great mental effort, Floweys hold on his body was completely broken, and he was sent screaming to the depths of his SOUL. _"_ _YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF MEEEE!"_ He howled back at him.

* * *

Raul slowly crept forward towards the demon. Its thrashing had stopped and it sat on its knees looking down at the floor, arms hanging limply at its sides.

He dared a few steps more. He could pounce on it and slits its throat in a mere second, but he was afraid that it could wake up at any moment.

He stopped, a mere half a meter away from it, and maneuvered his hand to his side. Just one quick stab to the throat and the nightmare would be over for good.

Suddenly, the monster lurched backwards with a great gasp, and Raul yelped in surprise, jumping backwards and dropping his knife once again.

Asriel gasped for air, his lungs having apparently gone without during the struggle. His vision was blurry, but slowly, surely, it recovered.

And settled on a human running screaming at him with a knife.

He tried to tilt his body sideways, but his movements were still slow and sluggish, and the blade nicked him across the shoulder. A shallow cut, but one delivered by a human filled with rage born of terror and desperation.

Asriel grunted in pain as the knife felt like it had cut him to the bone, and fought to stand up. He turned to look at the human, who was now coming at him with a backswing.

He ducked under the blade and clumsily jumped at the human, enveloping him in a hug that served to both restrain his arms and comfort him.

" _I'm so sorry! I swear I didn't mean to hurt you, but he took my body, and then I couldn't get it back, and I'm so sorry, please, is there anything I can do!?"_ Asriel cried without coherence. He knew it was a lost cause. The human had no reason to believe him and he had inflicted so much pain and hurt upon him. But still, he couldn't bear the thought of anyone thinking of him like that, his weakness had caused all this, so he had to try.

Raul tensed up completely in the monsters arms. _"_ _This is it"_ he thought _"_ _One quick squeeze and it'll snap my body in half"_ he closed his eyes and awaited the end. But it didn't come. Instead the hug, while firm and restraining, wasn't uncomfortable, in fact, it was quite warm and gentle. Even more strange, the demon that just moments ago had tortured him was now crying at his shoulder, begging for forgiveness and apologizing deeply.

It was a trick, it had to be.

" _AAAAHHHH! LET GO OF ME!"_ He screamed, and broke free of the hug. He took a quick swing at the monster, missing entirely, before he turned and ran down the hallway.

Asriel took a few steps forward and reached a hand out to him _"_ _No! Wait! I didn't mean to..."_ He called, but he was already gone.

He heard the restroom door open up to his side.

" _Azzy, that you? Woah, dude, you wouldn't believe the fight I just had in there! Those snails did a good number on me!"_

* * *

 ** _Going with a non-gender Frisk so far, but that might change in the future. For... reasons, you'll see :)_**


	10. Aftermath

_Asgore and Toriel stared in wide-eyed disbelief as the human finished recounting his tale. Truth be told, no one really knew the true reasons for the war, but most had just assumed that the humans had attacked out of fear._

But apparently it went a bit deeper than that.

Toriel growled angrily _"_ _And you call us monsters? What you did, what you plan to do... disgusting, is the only word I have for it!_ "

" _How can you do this!? Have you no heart?"_ Asgore snarled..

For the first time, an expression other than smug superiority appeared on the humans face, replaced by annoyance.

" _How I can do this? Simple, it's what's best for mankind, for my people... Not that any of you would understand what that means"_

He gestured to Toriel.

" _You, who would shirk your queenly duties because of a mere domestic issue"_

He gestured to Asgore

" _And you, who would rather wait out an eternity in the hopes no more souls would just dump into your lap, while your people suffered"_

He waved a dismissive hand at them.

" _You're both cowards, unfit to rule... but don't worry. Once your son arrives, that'll all change"_

Both Dreemurrs went quiet. They both loathed the human, yet his words had stung. They had both grossly neglected their duty to their people, but that didn't mean they didn't care and love for them.

Something this human would never understand.

" _He will stop you"_ Toriel said calmly _"_ _You seem to know a great deal about us, about our past, but you know nothing about him, About Asriel"_

Her voice rose.

" _He will come, and he WILL defeat you!"_

The human actually looked a bit impressed _"_ _You're right. I don't know a whole lot about your son, but know enough. I know of his past as a soulles flower, I know that he has the human SOUL of the one you call Frisk, and is therefore the_ _most powerful monster to have ever lived"_

He looked upwards, as if seeing stars on the ceiling.

" _Which is why I also know... that he doesn't stand a chance against me"_

* * *

Asriel leant against the guardrail, and observed the setting sun over the ocean. Tomorrow morning, they would arrive at Los Suenos, and he would finally get to the bottom of the matter.

Or, he would, if he hadn't been so weak.

Any moment now, he expected guards to arrive, to take him in for murdering a fellow passenger. He wouldn't resist, of course. He deserved to be punished, to be locked away from everything and everyone he loved. He could deal with that, he thought, he had tried it before.

But knowing that he had failed his parents, the king and queen, and thereby all of monsterkind, was too much to bear.

His hands clenched around the guardrail, the metal buckling under his grip, as tears welled up again. Sometimes, it seemed like fate was out get him, that no matter what happened, it would find a way to make him miserable again.

" _why so glum, chum?"_ a familiar voice came from his right. Asriel didn't need to look to know who it was. He let out breath and laughed sadly.

" _Sans. Why am I not surprised"_ He said

Sans came up to his side, hands in pockets and looked out at the sunset as well.

" _you know me, I go were I please and I please where I go"_ the skeleton answered. _"and, uhh, whoever took the king'n'queen also took pap, undyne and alphys. Just. y'know, a heads up._

Asriel felt his heart sink somehow even further down. He had now failed not only his parents, but also the people closest to what he could call his friends. He sighed deeply; nothing could be done about it now. Sans would probably do a way better job of saving them then he ever could.

" _Sans, you... you've probably heard what happened. I just wanted to say... I'm sorry. I messed up. I messed up again"_ Asriel said apologetically.

" _this about that guy you tangoed with back there?"_ Sans asked.

Asriel nodded solemnly.

" _I... I k-killed him, sans"_ His face fell to the floor. He was quivering, sobs racking his body as admitted his guilt.

" _I-i'm d-dangerous, sans. I-i'm a danger to e-everyone! I k-k-killed him, I didn't m-mean to but I did. And n-now they'll take me away to prison and I'll rot like t-the the the... horrible thing I am!"_

At this, he fell to his knees, hands on his face trying to stop the flow of tears with little success.

He sat there for a few moments, crying and sobbing, until he noticed a strange noise coming from sans.

He looked up and saw him drawing out a long sigh.

sans cast his gaze down at him.

 _"Seriously kid, don't you ever get tired of playing the villain?"_ He asked.

" _Wh-what?"_ Asriel asked back, voice distorted by tears.

sans looked back at the sunset.

" _look, i know you got a lot of issues. hell, i'm amazed you haven't snapped yet, considering what you've been trough. i don't know how i would react if i had to go trough all that"_

He walked over to Asriel and knelled down, coming face-to-face with him.

" _but i'm a pretty good judge of character and i can say, without a shadow of doubt that you're a good kid. you don't have one bad bone in you, and believe me, i know all about those"_

Despite himself, Asriel couldn't help but lighten up and chuckle at his words. He smiled back at him _"_ _Thanks sans. I... I guess I really needed that. But it doesn't change the fact that I killed someone. I'm sorry sans, I'm so-"_

" _yeah about that, don't worry about it"_ sans said nonchalantly and got this knees.

Asriel was dumbfounded _"_ _Do-don't worry about it? Sans, I-"_

sans held up a hand, silencing him _"_ _2 words, kid: healing. Magic"_

Asriel thought about the words for a second before it hit him. Of course! He could have used healing magic to save him! He had forgotten in his panic.

" _Does.. does that mean he-"_

" _you messed him up pretty bad, but nothing some good ol' magic couldn't fix. don't worry, he'll live"_

Asriel felt like he could fly

" _oh, and don't worry about getting arrested, i talked with some of the guards, got it all straightened out. wouldn't do to have our little prince with a bad mark on his resume, now would it?"_ sans said, grinning slyly.

Asriel didn't know what to say. This was probably the second biggest emotional turnaround he'd ever had.

" _sans... I could kiss you right now"_ he said, unsure if he even meant it sarcastically.

" _hehe, yeah, I get that a lot, you can thank me later"_

He turned around to leave.

" _now go get your parents back, i miss toriels cooking already"_

Asriel just sat, smiling, This was almost too god to be true! Not only was he saved, but sans had followed him after all.

Suddenly, a chilling fact occurred to Asriel; how did sans know about that he used to be Flowey? He had only told his parents about it, and they had promised not to pass it on.

He looked up.

" _Hey sans, how did you-"_ But he was gone.

" _How does he do that?"_ Asriel wondered out aloud.

" _Who're you talking to?"_ A voice came from his left.

Asriel looked over to see Monster Kid coming towards him, overjoyed by the fact the he wouldn't have to break his heart like that.

" _MK!"_ Asriel shouted and scooped him up in a hug.

 _Woah, dude. You're cr-crushing me!"_ MK whezzed.

" _Haha, sorry!_ " Asriel said, but didn't quite let go yet.

" _Well, you're in a good mood"_ MK said as he was finally put down _"_ _What's up?"_

" _Oh nothing, just had a... very good chat with someone"_ Asriel answered with a huge smile on his face.

MK looked around nervously

" _Uhh, speaking of chats, I heard some of the other monsters talking some mad shade about you. Did I miss something while I was.. "busy"?"_ MK asked.

Asriel looked away for a moment. He supposed he had to tell him about it, but somehow, he didn't feel like telling MK about him getting into a fistfight with someone would be very difficult. He would probably like it, atually.

" _Hehe, I guess you could say that. Look, I'll tell you all about it, but first, let's get some nice cream before the cantina_ _closes_ " Asiel said and put a paw on MK's shoulder.

MK jumped with excitement, and spun around fast enough to trip over himself, gracing the ship floor with another crater.

* * *

At about the same time, on the island of Los Suenos, in a dusty and cruddy hotel room sat a man at a table covered with document and papers, perusing an assignment that could set him and his compatriot up for life, if events would unfold in a certain way. The room itself was crummy, neglected and dirty. The only reasons the occupants would stay in such as place was the promised reward.

Across the room, the door leading to the bedroom opened up and another man came out, cellphone in hand.

" _So, what's the word, Sam?"_ the first man asked.

The other man shook his head _"_ _The boat team failed, looks like it's on us then, Lee. Though, I don't think I've ever heard Raul that freaked out"_

The man at the table, Lee, raised a questioning eyebrow.

" _Oh?"_

" _Yeah, he... I dunno, rambled something about a demon and some-such. Probably been out too much in the sun. Guy never did know his limits._

" _Hmm"_

" _But, that just means we get job. Man, I still can't believe what we're getting paid for this! Just dust off one monster and BOOM! Richer than rainbow gnomes!"_

Lee shot him another questioning look.

" _Richer than what now?"_

" _Just something dear ol' da' always used to say"_

" _O...kay. Well, I think this one might be a bit of a challenge"_

" _What makes you say that?"_

Lee gave him a dumb look.

" _Jesus Christ, do you ever read the fucking brief!?"_

" _Hehe, no, that's what I got you for. Me, I just need the guy pointed out and he'll be deader than than a door"_

" _You got some pretty weird analogies, you know that?"_

" _Thanks, ma' always did say I was special"_

" _A wise woman, I'm sure. But seriously, don't underestimate this guy. It's none other than Asriel Dreemurr himself"_ Lee said, and scooted the briefing across the table towards Sam.

He didn't pick it up though, instead he stared out the window, his expression one of deep thinking.

" _Asriel? Name rings a bell..."_ He muttered.

Lee threw his hands up in surrender. It was true that his friend was one of the most proficient killers around and a true professional when it counted, but sometimes it was like he was making a conscious effort to remains as ignorant of the world as possible.

 _Oh, you know. He's no one special, just the freaking Prince of All Monsters!"_ Lee said sarcastically.

Sam didn't bite _"_ _Huh. I was thinking of that basketball player, y'know, the one with the peg leg?"_

Lee looked with a face of utter amazement _"_ _I have no idea what you're talking about, but no, this guy is bit more... lucrative"_

" _Tell me about him then"_

" _Read the brief you doofus"_

" _I don't read"_

" _You don't or you cant?"_

" _Little bit of column A, little bit of column B... And a little bit of column A, because of column B"_

Lee sighed and shook his head. At least he wouldn't have to deal with stuff like this after they were done.

" _Alright, listen up then"_ He took a deep breath.

 _Asriel Dreemurr, boss monster, heir to the throne of monsterkind. Biologically 18 years of age, but it says here something about him actually being a fair bit older than that because he... "died" once long ago"_

Sam gave him a bewildered look.

" _He "died once"? What the hell does that mean?"_

Lee shrugged.

" _Dunno, says something about him being resurrected, courtesy of some kind of SOUL_ _bullshit. Moving on, He hasn't made many public appearances despite being royalty. Got top marks in all subjects in school. Started receiving combat training about 4 years ago from the The Royal Guard captain, and, last but not least..."_

He looked up at Sam, eyes narrowed and voice lowered for dramatic effect.

" _He's the only monster to ever absorb a human SOUL!"_

Sam only response to this was to stare ahead, wide-eyed, for a full 10 seconds.

" _And that's... a bad thing... I guess?"_ he asked.

Lee sunk back into his chair and sighed.

" _Yes, Sam, that is very bad. He's the most powerful monster to ever live, and probably the most dangerous mark we've ever had, honestly"_

Sam laughed _"_ _So you're telling, that we're getting paid to kill a super-powered, royal, genius zombie with combat training? God, I love this job!"_

" _Heh, I suppose we do. But as I said, don't take this guy lightly, he could rip you in half if he got his hands on you"_

Sam laughed again and went over to the couch, unpacking a briefcase containing dissembled pieces of an exotic rifle.

" _He won't get close enough. All it takes is one bullet and this power-prince is nothing more than dust on the wind. And if he died once..."_

He looked back at Lee.

" _... he can die again"_


	11. Arrival

**I'm sorry if this one took a bit longer than usual to get out. On the plus side, its a tad bit longer!**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

The human had returned to his throne, hands folded and legs crossed.

" _The difference between us, and the problem with you, is that you treat your subjects as family, as if they were your own children"  
_

Toriel and Asgore both regarded him with contempt. They had both known him from long before the war, and even back then he had commanded both respect and fear from monsterkind. Respect, because his devotion to humanity's prosperity was without compare. Fear, because of the lengths he was willing to go in pursuit of that prosperity, and the cold and blatant disregard he seemed to have towards almost everything else. Even now, he spoke with confidence but didn't appear smug.

" _Don't get me wrong, a ruler is supposed to care and love for their people"_

His gaze became more stern.

" _But you're not supposed to cuddle them the way you have. You keep treating them like children, and eventually, they'll start regarding you as their parents. They'll forget their own motivations and dreams in order to not disappoint you. You will become their crutch, and in the end, a weakness"_

He looked towards the sky, his face becoming contemplative.

" _It used to be that when a human ruler died, their subjects wouldn't mourn their passing. Quite often, that would have to be enforced with a "day of mourning"  
_

 _._ His gaze returned to the 2 monster monarchs.

" _You see where I'm getting at? When your 2 children died, your whole kingdom succumbed to the despair, something like that would never have happened in a human kingdom. We aren't so weak that the mere tragic loss of children will break our spirit. But you... to restore hope, you had to go to such an extent as_ _to resort to the wholesale murdering of innocent human kids. You didn't even try to hide this from your people._ _A monstrous sentiment.  
_

His eyes grew hard and accusing.

" _Yet your people followed unquestioningly. They would willingly partake in this slaughter of children_ _simply because you, their "parent"_ _told them to, because they relied on you so heavily"_

For a brief moment, something like envy flickered across his face.

" _Not so much with us humans. Monarchs die, a new one is placed on the throne and life goes on as usual for the common folks. Our hopes and dreams does not rely on the people in power"  
_

" _That's why we won the war so easily"_

* * *

Asriel stood, back to the steel wall in the disembarking hall of the ship. The ship had moored a few minutes before, and any second now the ramp would fall down, and they would walk onto Los Suenos.

It couldn't come fast enough, it was getting difficult to shut out all the whispers and accusations from the fellow monsters in the hall.

" _He brutally beats a man and doesn't even get arrested? Such corruption!_ _I didn't know the Dreemurrs would abuse their power in such a way!"_

" _Looks like the apple really fell far from the tree"_

" _I once heard that King Asgore would toy mercilessly with the human kids before he killed them. I wonder if such cruelty and callousness runs in the family?"_

 _"_ _Mom! I read on the Undernet that The Barrier never even existed, and the Dreemurr's only came up with that story, so they could do with us as they pleased, is that true!?"_

Asriel knew the truth of course. He never intended to hurt the human the way he did, and yet the words stung. Shame filled his chest and tears pooled in his eyes. He was their prince. He was supposed to be an icon of hope and leadership, and now they feared him. 

He turned to Monster Kid as his side, there at least, was one who didn't hate him.

" _Man, I can't believe I missed the show. It musta' been so cool, you fighting the human!"_ He pouted.

Asriel couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm, perhaps misplaced as it was.

" _I'll try and give you a heads up, if anything like that ever happens again"_ He said.

" _HNNNNGGHHH! THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOME!"_ MK squealed. 

An alarm blared at the end of the hall, followed by a cacophony of metallic clanking as the ramp finally descended. Slowly, the gathered throngs of monsters started disembarking.

Asriel waited, all too aware of the damning looks those closest to him gave him. Just as the last group passed, a single monster that looked like it was made of bricks broke off, trotted over to him and quickly spat a greasy looking glob of gravel at his feet, before hastily retreating back to his group.

Asriel felt hot anger flood into him. How dare he treat a member of the royal family this way!? He could annihilate him and his whole group with but a flick of his wrist. Perhaps he should. That would teach everyone what happened if they dared disrespect the prince of all monsters!

He felt a tug at his leg.

" _Yo man, you ready to go?_ " MK quirped.

Asriel shook his head, suddenly feeling fearful. He had never once entertained such thoughts prior to and after being Flowey. Respect couldn't be earned trough violence and hatred.

So why did... Was Flowey...?

He felt another tug.

" _Dude, are you alright?"_ MK asked.

Asriel took a deep breath.

" _Yeah, just... I'm fine, thanks. Let's go"_

It had to be settled another time. While there was no doubt in his mind that the incident with the human was a PR catastrophe for the monster royalty, it was a problem for another time, there were more pressing issues at hand.

He still had people to save.

* * *

" _This... is... the... absolute... GREATEST!"_ MK squealed.

" _I'm touring the friggin' lost home of monsters with YOUUUUU!"_

" _Golly, calm down there tons-a-fun. How do you even stand this heat?"_ Asriel asked, holding a paw to his forehead trying to shield himself from the sun. His robes were enchanted to be cool if the weather was warm, and heated if it was chilly, yet the tropical sun of Los Suenos appeared to be too much for even boss monster magic.

" _I'm very thick-boned_ " MK said, as if that answered anything. He then began bouncing up and down in excitement again.

Asriel held up a paw, and looked around nervously.

" _We, uhh, wouldn't want to attract too much attention"._ Asriel said, almost a whisper.

" _What are you talking about!? It's the first time any of us have been here! Let's tear it up!"_

" _I'ts actually my second time_ " Asriel said matter-of-factly, with a raised finger

" _About a year after the barrier fell, I came here with my parents. Mom and dad wanted to see how much of our culture was preserved on the island."_

His face fell.

" _They were... kinda disappointed._

He looked at MK, as they continued their walk down a shopping strip. Stalls and tents with hawking shopkeepers at either side of them. The air was filled with music, the scent of local food and the promises of "great deals!".

" _Most of the humans who live here are actually descendants of the army that conquered our kingdom. They, uhh, don't really sport a very monster-friendly attitude_ _"_

" _No kidding?"_ MK answered and looked around. Most people didn't appear to notice them, wha-

Wait, there was a shopkeeper that regarded them with a disapproving glare. Over there sat a fletcher, who spat at the ground as soon as he noticed MK looking at him.

Suddenly, a man going the opposite way as them went out of his way to bump hard into MK. He stumbled with a yelp and fell, waiting for the imminent impact of head on ground.

A hand grabbed one of his horns and gently pulled him upright. He looked up at his savior, finding Asriels worried face.

" _You alright?"_ He asked.

" _Yeah thanks_ " MK answered, looking around at the market with newfound eyes.

" _So you're telling me we're on an island full of monster-hating bigots?"_ MK uttered, sounding more surprised than dissapointed

" _It's not as bad as it used to be. Last time I was here, dad had to guard our hotel door at night, to make sure we didn't get attacked while we were sleeping"_ Asriel reflected. He really hadn't enjoyed his last trip to the island. He once told Frisk that the surface was full of Floweys, and in no place was that more evident than on this island. It was like being surrounded by versions of his former self. Honestly, it had been a bit of a traumatic experience.

But he was older and stronger now. He wouldn't be deterred by petty prejudices. 

" _Yoooo! Azzy, check this out!"_

Asriel followed the squeal, finding MK, having apparently completely forgotten their conversation, jumping up and down at a booth selling what appeared to be rocks encased in enameled glass.

MK gingerly thrusted his head forward, a souvenir was placed upon it.

" _It's fragments of the old Monster Palace! I gotta show this to mom and dad_ " He scowled and looked down.

" _Once they stop arguing, that is..."_

Asriel picked up the small glass container, and turned it over in his hands, studying it from all angles.

" _It's fake"_ He muttered.

 _"What!? No way! The guy said it's 100% legit!_ _"_ MK gasped, face crunched into a mass of shock and disappointment.

Asriel pressed a finger to the container, and sent small magical tremors into it. Slowly, it began dissolving and sand ran out onto the ground.

" _The royal palace was built using Tyrite, a material that requires magic to produce_ "

He casually tossed the now-empty container back to the furious looking shopkeeper in the booth.

" _That there is nothing more than sandstone"_

The shopkeeper returned the gesture with a curse, muttering something about _"_ _Those fucking animals!"_

The 2 continued their walk down the market.

" _How did you know that?"_ MK asked with childlike wonder in his eyes.

Asriel smiled a bit sadly _"_ _I read about it once... In the librarby, and because the The Royal Palace doesn't exist anymore"_

" _It doesn't?"_

" _No, after the humans had driven us out, they began tearing the palace down, stone by stone, and built this town from the materials_ " Asriel said, and stretched his arms out, encompassing the buildings around them.

" _Man, that sucks_ " MK pouted and casually kicked a stone away.

Asriel sighed _"_ _Yeah... it really does"_ From what he had read, the old Royal Palace had been considered the 8th wonder of the world at the time, and he longed to somehow see it for himself as it looked back then. Perhaps, someday, he would get the chance.

Yes, someday he would make all these monster-hating scumbags pay. He would force them to tear down their own homes, he would force them to rebuild what their ancestors destroyed! It would be justice, it would be right, it would be...

Asriel shook his head.

It would be completely wrong! What was he thinking!? Where were these dark thoughts coming from?

* * *

Sam yawned loudly and stretched, as get got up from the couch. All this waiting was unbearable when there was such a prize as the prince of all monster running around, just waiting to get a bullet in his hairy head.

" _By the way, Raul said the mark was traveling with a companion, any intel on that?"_ Sam asked, as he made his way over to the rented hotel rooms kitchen area.

" _Uhh, not much_ " Lee muttered, not even bothering looking up from the briefing papers. _"_ _Not even a name, actually, he's just called "monster kid". Appears to be well liked by quite a few of the higher-ups in Ebott, but other than that... What the hell are you doing?!"_

Lee had watched with disbelief as Sam had put a kettle of water to cook over the gas-stove, and gently placed something inside a microwave standing on a shelf above the stove.

" _What? I'm hungry!"_ Sam retorted.

" _Goddammit! I told you to eat an hour ago! The mark has arrived, we're about to leave!"_ Lee burst out angrily, jumping up from his chair.

" _I wasn't hungry back then!"_ Sam whined back.

Lee fell back down to his chair, shoulders sunk with resignation.

"" _I wasn't hungry back then?" What are you, 5 years old?"_

Sam was slookingdown in shame, looking very much like a berated 5 year old, despite his large frame.

" _No matter, get over here, we still need to go over our plan of attack_ _"_ Lee said wearily, unfolding a map of the city on the table.

Sam slowly trotted over, afraid that the measliest noise would reignite the others ire.

" _C'mon, you fucking man-child!"_ Lee snapped. Sam jumped at the remark, but luckily in the right direction, and he landed right at the edge of the table, opposite from Lee.

" _Now, see here"_ Lee said, as he placed a twitching finger on the map.

" _This is only hotel in town that allow monsters accommodations, and thus its safe to assume the mark will be staying there during the night. Now-"_

" _Why only there?"_ Sam interrupted

Lee took a deep breath _"_ _Because, about 99,9% of the people who live here grew up on old-as-fuck salt dating all the way back monster-human war"_ Lee replied, hands clasped together and a fake smile on his face, talking as a kindergarten teacher would to a non-understanding pupil.

The non-understanding look on Sam's face gave him ample reason.

" _THEY'RE RACIST ASSHOLES! THAT'S WHY!"_ Lee shouted furiously and slammed a fist down on the table, knocking over several poor empty coffee cups. Sam yelped and jumped back in response.

" _Get back here, you fool... Now, as I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, the Prince of Monsters will be staying here, most likely with this "monster kid" fella'. We'll need to get the exact room number, and then tonight, we'll-"_

He smelt smoke on the air, and looked up to scan the room. The source was quickly located; the microwave, once a cheap and old piece of cooking hardware, now looked like a gateway to hell, with flames bursting from the enclosed space.

Lee sighed _"_ _What did you put in the microwave, Sam?"_

Sam shrugged, still blissfully unaware of the inferno taking place not 3 meters behind him _"_ _Some kind of local thing. A bit of meat, fish and vegetable rolled into this square-like piece of bread"_

Lee nodded solemnly _""_ _Mukva", it's called "mukva", local delicacy... and they usually sell it wrapped in tinfoil, right?"_

" _Uhh, I guess?"_

Lee looked up at his woefully inept colleague. He could feel tears gathering in his eyes.

" _You did... take the tinfoil off before you put it in, right?"_ He whimpered.

Sam shrugged again _"_ _I don't think so, why?"_

Lee's gaze returned to the gates of hell with rising despair and sinking heart. It was incredible that such an old piece of junk could contain such fiery fury, but even now flames were leaking out, licking across the gas-lit stove standing beneath it.

" _Sam... from the bottom of my heart, I truly, earnestly, fucking hate yo-"_

* * *

MK trotted along down the shopping strip, noticeably more casually than he normally would. The recent revelation about the history of the island, as well as the scam with the old piece of the palace, had put a serious damper on his once sunny disposition.

Equally as disheartening, was his companions sullen demeanor. Asriel walked, hands in pockets and face cast downwards, looking as if the whole world rested on his shoulders.

The whole scene was terribly awkward.

MK deeply wished that something, anything would happen that could occupy them. A friendly face, a conversation, perhaps finding a place to eat at.

" _BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"_

Or an entire floor of a nearby hotel building suddenly exploding into flames, blasting both of them off their feet. Now there was something to take their minds off things.

" _WHA- WHO- WHE-"_ MK spluttered as he tried to pull himself up from the ground, his ears still ringing and head throbbing.

" _MK! ARE YOU ALLRIGHT?"_ He heard Asriel call from somewhere in the surrounding smoke and dust.

" _YEAH... WHERE ARE YOU?"_ He called out.

No answer.

" _ASRIEL, BUDDY, I CAN'T SEE YOU!"_

Still no answer.

Everywhere he looked was complete chaos, the entire market was engulfed in dust, people were screaming, running to and fro.

" _CALL THE FIRE BRIGADE!"_

 _"GODAMMIT! MY EARS! MY EARS!_ _"_

" _THE MONSTERS ARE BACK! THE MONSTERS ARE BACK!"_

MK looked up and down, left and right but couldn't catch sight of Asriel. People were pushing and showing, sand was getting in his eyes, the sun burned like a bit-

He caught a sudden glimpse of purple out of the corner and his eyes and spun to it. There, climbing up a drainage pipe towards the inflamed hotel floor, was his friend.

MK had a moment of severe fanboyism. The way the sun shone, the way Asriel was heroically climbing towards certain danger, the way his cape billowed off his shoulder in the wind, as the roaring flames ineffectively dances across it looked so awesome!

MK actually drolled a bit.

He shook himself out of it.

Not willing to miss his hero in action a second time, he dashed towards the burning hotel building.


	12. Men and Monsters

**Here we go! Second, and so far biggest fight so far! Between Asriel and our 2 assasins!**

* * *

The human waved a dismissive hand at no one in particular.

" _Of course, after today, you won't have to worry about that anymore"_

A brief flash of fear leapt across the faces of the 2 monster monarchs.

As if just realizing he had said something offensive, the human threw his hands up.

" _Ah! Not that I really want to kill you! If all goes according to plan, you will all leave with your lives_ "

His hands fell slack at his sides.

" _But, in the end, depending on what happens, I may have to..."_

His words hung in the air for a few fleeting moments.

" _How can you do this?"_ Toriel asked in a quite voice.

The human sighed.

" _As I told you, Miss Toriel, I'm doing this because humanity needs to-"_

" _No, not that. I mean how can you do this... to us"_

The humans face became devoid of all emotion.

" _We've never done anything to you! And yet, your plan, should you succeed, would mean our doom. Why? What did we ever do to deserve this?"_

The human looked away, almost as if in shame.

 _Miss Toriel... please believe me when I say, I truly find your inevitable extinction to be... quite regrettable"_

He locked eyes with her, looking quite as if he meant his words.

" _But I believe, with all my heart,_ _that mankind warrants, deserves and NEEDS this, if it is to survive. There is no other way"_

" _There's always another way!"_ Toriel bristled.

" _Genocide and the murder of innocents can never lead to a good, clean future!"_

The human smiled sadly and walked back towards his throne.

" _If you honestly believe that, then you know even less about us humans than I thought"_

He stopped and turned to face a wall, painted over with a giant, ancient fresco depicting what appeared to be humans and monsters commingling.

" _As a species, we humans_ _thrive almost shamefully well on destruction. We have long ago mastered the art of tearing apart and breaking down, and we don't always need a reason to do so."_

He spread his arms out, as if trying to encompass the painting.

" _But we always find the will and determination to rise again, stronger than ever. What we destroy, we can always rebuild! When a bone snaps, it always regrows stronger than before!. And this time, from the ashes and dust of you monsters, we shall rise like a phoenix. Reborn as the living manifestations of the potential we all hold inside us"_

He again turned to face the monsters.

" _I truly am sorry. But for all of mankind to live..._

" _...You all have to die"_

* * *

" _Just brilliant. You're a freaking genius, Asriel!"_ He thought to himself, as he continued to clamber up the rickety drainage pipe.

" _You're climbing up a rusty pipe, almost 13 meters off the ground, towards a burning hotel room,_ _which might not even be inhabited! Oh, and you left MK all alone and defenseless in a city full of people who hate him, what a good friend you are!"_ _He said out loud. Actually annoyed with himself._

Despite these thoughts, he didn't slow in his stride. Whenever the possibility of people being in danger occurred to him, he had always had the habit of running to their help.

Just like that one time in The Ruins so long ago...

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had to focus.

He reached the same level as the burning window. The flames were still weak and his robes were enchanted to be fireproof, no real danger to most of his body.

But that still left his paws, feet and head exposed.

He steadied himself and measured the distance to the window, almost a good 2 meters stood between him and it. He looked down, not liking the sight. Even with Frisks human SOUL empowering him, a drop from his altitude could prove fatal, and even if he did survive a fall, he really didn't like the idea of having 2 broken legs while on the island. He'd be as good as dead anyway.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _"_ _Alright Asriel, this is it. Time to be incredibly stupid and reckless for quite possibly no reason"_

He opened his eyes again. He could very likely make the jump, he assessed, remembering the times Undyne had had him run across a field and jump over landmines that would shock him if stepped on, all the while dodging spears and carrying 3 heavy duty duffel bags filled with dog residue. That stuff was far heavier that one would imagine.

He tooka deep breath, mustering all his courage.

He exhaled.

And he kicked himself off the pipe.

And immediately cried out in alarm as he felt it give away under his feet, ruining his momentum.

He reached out for the window ledge in a blind panic. It was so close, yet so far! For a brief moment, everything stood still.

" _So this is how it ends. Frisk died trying to save me, and this is how I thank them. By being a wasteful idiot..._

… _Frisk... I'm sorry"_

Suddenly, he felt his fingers lap around something. He looked out, almost shouting in triumph as he saw 2 of his fingers latching on.

He threw his other arm up, and swiftly pulled himself inside the burning apartment.

* * *

A few floors down, MK was encountering some problems.

Sprinklers were spraying murky water that kept getting in his eyes. The cacophony of the fire alarms and screaming humans were deafening, and the press of fleeing humans meant that he had to fight trough every flight of stairs like his life depended on it.

When he reached the penultimate floor, a large man had picked him up and started carrying him down, stating his intentions to save him. They almost made it to the ground floor before MK's screaming and kicking finally made the man realize he was carrying a monster, and promptly discarded him with a grunt of disgust.

Tired, annoyed, wet and angry but still not willing to give up, MK resumed his ascendance up the stairs.

* * *

Asriel cupped his paws to his muzzle.

" _ANYONE THERE? I'M HERE TO HELP!"_

He quickly took in the scene around him. The fire appeared to have originated, and spread from the kitchen. The explosion had shattered all the windows, meaning there was no way to starve the flames out, but at least it also gave the smoke build-up a way to drain out. In the middle of the room, a single sprinkler was zealously trying to stem the tide, but it was like spitting against lava coming down a mountain.

" _CALL OUT IF YOU CAN HEAR ME! I'M HERE TO-"_

" _Over here..."_ A raspy voice pleaded.

Asriel looked over. A charred and coughing ,broad-shouldered and black-haired man was rising from what appeared to be remnants of a wooden chair, steadying himself on a nearby wall.

Asriel went over and helped him up

" _Don't worry, you're safe, I gotcha'"_

The man wheezed a cough.

" _Thanks buddy, I can't believe anyone would come for us. You're a real her-"_

The man must have been shell-shocked. He was dressed in white jeans and a blue hawaiian silk shirt covered in palm, water and coconut motives, both now shredded and torn, covered in blood and scorch marks.

When Asriel had helped him up, he had sounded grateful, and had readily accepted his help. But the moment he looked up at Asriel, something changed completely.

His whole body went rigid, and his face changed from a smile of gratitude to one of alarm, surprise...

… and recognition.

For a moment, Asriel wondered that with him being a monster, the man thought he was here to rob him, this being Los Suenos and all.

He held up a placating hand.

" _Look, just wait here. I'll go break the door down, then we can-"_

Suddenly, the man forcefully pushed back. Ariel fell backwards with a bleat of surprise, tripping over a piece of shattered furniture. He barely managed to regain his balance, roll on his back and land on his feet. When he did, he found the man now brandishing a gleaming military knife.

Asriel held up his hands in surrender.

" _H-hey, I'm not trying to rob you! Ju- put the knife down, and we-"_

The sounds of shifting debris interrupted him, and he looked over his shoulder, finding, with horror, another man, half-buried in pieces of a former wooden table, rise up.

He was noticeably more broad-shouldered than the other, with brighter hair, clad in a white button-up shirt and Bordeaux-red suspenders, complimented by black slacks.

" _Gooood damn... that's the last time I'm eating local. Always hated spicy food..."_

He looked up at Asriel. Unlike the other, this man kept a mischievous smile. He reached up and scratched the back of his head

" _Hehe... wow, Lee, can we see a doctor when we get out? Think I hit my head, I'm seeing some kind of cape-wearing goat super-hero standing in the middle of the room!"_ He chuckled out.

" _SAM! YOU IDIOT!"_ The knife-wielding man shouted. _"_ _THAT'S ASRIEL! THE MARK!"_

The man looked like a big question mark. His eyes darted back and forth between Lee and Asriel. After a few seconds, he fixed his gaze on Asriel and his smile changed from one of childlike mischief to a cold, sinister one.

Asriel looked back at the one called Lee, assessing him as being the greater threat due to him standing physically closer to him, and being armed with a knife.

Still, he had no idea what was going on.

As if on queue, a piece of scorched paper fluttered past his muzzle. He didn't have time to catch all of the words, but he did glean a few important sentences.

 **WANTED DEAD: ASRIEL DREEMURR, PRINCE OF MONSTERS**

 **REWARD: 50-and-a-whole-lot-of-0's**

 **PAYMENT TO BE PAID UPON DELIVERY OF TARGETS SOUL**

Asriel went cold with apprehension. Somehow, he had ended up standing between 2 assassins in burning apartment within minutes of setting foot on Los Suenos.

The knife-wielding mans eyes flashed with a killing intent. Asriel clenched his paws into fists.

 **ASSASIN LEE**

 **ATK: 100 DEF: 100**

 _ **"Appears to be almost as flustered as you are"**_

 _"Chara had the right idea 'bout knives, y'know. Why the heck are you using A STICK as a weapon!?"_

 _ **ASSASIN SAM**_

 _ **ATK: 200 DEF: 0**_

 ** _"Small minds are easily swayed with kindness"_**

 _"Screw that noise! The bigger they are, the bigger their SOUL!... I think. Anyway, time to unwrap your present, Azzy!"_

There we those 2 voices again. Asriel had no doubt any longer, that they were Frisk and Flowey. Nevertheless, he felt wholly unprepared. He had come here to rescue these people, not fight them!

This was going to get ugly.

Asriel felt heavy vibrations in the floorboards. The one called Sam was probably charging at him from behind, intending to seize him.

He quickly quickly bent over forwards, placing his hands on the floor for balance. Behind him, he heard Sam grunt in frustration as his hands grasped at nothing. Ariel kicked upwards, his foot going right between the offending arms and connecting harshly on Sams chin.

It had been a solid hit, yet Asriel sensed that Sam had only staggered back a few steps. He was tougher than he looked.

He stood up straight, gasping in surprise as he locked eyes with Lee, knife held in a reverse grip, executing a professional lightning lash aimed at slitting his throat.

With mere nanoseconds to spare, Asriel threw his head back, practically feeling the tip of the knife grazing the fur on his neck.

He grabbed the knife wielding arm by the wrist with one hand and Lee's shoulder with the other. In one quick motion, he spun the human around and forced him into a painful arm-lock, the shock enough to make him drop the blade. With practiced ease, he followed the trajectory of the falling blade and nimbly heel-kicked it, sending it flying out a window.

For a moment, Asriel stopped in wonder at how cool that had looked.

Yet those few moments of inattention was all Lee needed.

Asriel reeled back as Lee's back-elbowed him right on his cheek, momentarily stunned from the blow, he felt the human wrestle himself out of the arm-lock.

Eyes closed, and bitting trough the pain, he spun on his heel, using the momentum to deliver a sharp straight kick in Lee's direction. It landed on his lower back, and the human was sent stumbling forward, directly into the just recovered Sam.

Sam himself barely managed to stay on his feet, as Lee suddenly barreled into him. Leveraging his considerable weight, he managed to stabilize and help Lee stay on his feet. Satisfied that he was no worse for wear, he patted him on the back

Lee batted the hand away, his temper rising at his partners apparent lack of appreciation of the situation at hand.

He looked around and assessed.

Originally, the plan had been been that, once they had determined the room the mark would stay in, Sam would have used the custom weapon they had been supplied to snipe the target in his sleep, while Lee would have waited right outside his door, quickly breaking in and capturing the SOUL once the task had been done.

The mark would have died in his sleep, unaware of who or what had killed him, and never even laying eyes on his killers.

Instead, he was now acutely aware of them, engaged in fisticuffs inside a burning hotel room. Their burning hotel room to boot.

Funny how things sometimes turn out.

He caught a glint of gunmetal-gray to his left. The weapon! Still unassembled but with all the components still intact, firmly lodged inside an open steel briefcase.

This monster prince might be fast, but he doubted he was fast enough to dodge bullets.

He gently elbowed Sam in the side to get his attention. He then executed a quick series of hand movements.

He threw his left palm in the direction of the weapon case before forming it into a pistol-gesture, pointed towards the mark. He then chopped down with his right hand, forming it into a fist which he smacked against his chest and then also towards the mark.

" _2-FIGURE DISTRACT'N'DROP! HOP TO!"_ He barked out.

The gestures had been simple enough. He knew Sam was considerably more skilled with firearms than himself, so he would go and get the gun, while Lee tied the mark down in close-combat.

For a moment, he briefly feared that Sam, being the somewhat dense idiot he was, might not have understood, but his fear were quickly dashed as he sprinted past him, towards the gun

Across the room, the monster was slowly backing away, holding up placating hands.

" _H-hey, I'm sorry! I don't know what I did, b- but can't we just be... uhh, friends?"_ He stammered out.

Lee felt puzzled. He wasn't unaccustomed to people begging for their lives, but those that did tended to be the more physically frail and defenseless, not someone who could obviously handle himself well in a fight.

Throwing the though aside, he quickly rolled his shoulders before charging at him.

* * *

Not 5 meters away from them, MK finally made it to the floor. The air burned in his lungs and he stumbled at the last step and fell face-first to the floor, laying still as he struggled for breath. The heat and about 13 flights of stairs had absolutely drained him. He silently chided himself, he had for a long time considered taking up mornings jogs, simply because Asriel did, but the idea of sweating and getting up early didn't appeal to him that much.

" _When we get back..."_ He half-heartedly promised himself and stood up. The second door on the right had smoke coming out between the cracks. That had to be it! He went over, hearing the of sound of tossing and grunting on the other side. Perhaps Asriel was in the middle of saving someone right now!

He swiftly headbutted the door handle. Locked!

He took a step back. There was an obvious solution to this, but it could backfire quite a bit.

Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself. No, he had to go help, and that meant going trough this door.

He walked back down the hall, turned around, lowered his head.

And charged straight at the door.

* * *

Lee threw everything he had at the goat, noting with rising anger how little effect it had. He threw a right backhand towards him, as expected the mark ducked low. In response, he attempted to knee him in the face as he went down, but somehow, the monster managed to flatten himself low enough and roll under it, standing up straight behind him.

Fearing a reprisal, Lee kicked backwards, yet again to no effect. The mark dodged backwards, clearing a good 2 meters in a single jump.

He turned around, holding his pose.

Lee had always figured himself as a natural fighter. At the age of 6, he had beat up the entire male section of his school class single-handedly, when the popular guy had bullied his sister. When he confronted him about it, the rest of the class had of course backed the bully up.

And left the class with broken noses, teary eyes and flustered parents.

At the age of 17, a riot had broken out in his hometown, which also happened to be under siege by a virulent plague. As a result, the local pharmacy had been stormed by everyone with infected friends and family. But of course, there hadn't been nearly enough medicine for everyone. Lees mother had also been diagnosed with the plague, and so, like almost half of the town, he had gone to the pharmacy for medication. He fought, bit and kicked people both stronger, weaker, older and younger than himself.

And in the end, he had been the last man standing.

At the age of 22, his sister had been killed in in shootout between 2 rivaling druglords. In a fit of rage, he had gone to one of their hideouts unarmed, killing almost 30 heavily armed guards with his bare hands.

That was also where he had first met Sam, chained to a wall in a deep sub-basement. Apparently he had been a prize trophy fighter in some kind of underground fighting ring, and was kept sedated with drugs whenever he wasn't figthing. The drugs had damaged his mind to the point that there were only room for 1 thing; fighting.

Which was also what they did when Lee, feeling sympathy for the poor soul, had unchained him. Yet despite Sam being pumped up on muscle stimulants and pain suppressors, Lee had emerged the victor. They had been close ever since.

Yet despite never having lost a fight in the entirety of his now 36 years old life, this 18-year old goat kid was making him look like a fool, dodging his attacks with such ease it was like he had done nothing else his entire life.

He took a deep breath. He needed to focus, getting angry would only make it worse. He quickly went trough the fight in his head, trying to find some flaw to exploit.

Puzzled, he realized that the mark had never tried to block or even attack. All he had done was bob and weave, duck and jump.

He really didn't want to fight, apparently.

Lee gritted his teeth, it wasn't much to go on, but at least he could conclude that adopting a more aggressive tactic was viable. No need to be careful and reserved if his opponent wasn't going to hit back.

* * *

Asriel was looking frantically around the room, looking for an escape. So far, he had avoided everything the human had thrown at him, if barely.

He had trained with Undyne how to counter a multitude of the humans so called "martial arts". But that was also why this "Lee" was proving a fearsome opponent.

The human he had fought on the ship had been a boxer, fast but ultimately predictable. Lee, however, was proving much more difficult to read. He fought almost like a common street-thug, but with surprising speed and fluidity, never using more energy than necessary, pivoting his hips and shoulders efficiently for extra power, and never really leaving himself exposed to counter-attacks. He was evidently a fighter taught by experience rather than an instructor.

Asriel had promised himself and Frisk long ago that he would never hurt anyone unless absolutely necessary, yet as kept failing to find way of escape, he feared with a rising apprehension that he might have to.

* * *

Lee bunched his feet, preparing for another flurry of attacks when Sam suddenly called out.

" _GUN'S UP! POPIN' MAG!"_

He looked over at him in genuine amazement. The weapon had been broken into 30 different parts, yet Sam, despite being wounded and more then likely dazed by he explosion, had managed to assemble it in about 20 seconds.

He might not know a spatula from a grill, but when it came to tools of killing, there were none better.

He looked back at the mark. Now all he needed was a static target.

He charged at the goat, thinking up a strategy on the go. So far, he had dodged everything, but what if he could hit him from a blind angle?

He performed a sweeping right hook, aimed at the marks chest. As expected, he ducked low. In response, Lee took a quick step closer and shot his left leg out in a leg sweep, making sure he was going low enough that the mark couldn't roll under this time, simutaneously holding an elbow raised above him. The mark couldn't roll under his leg, and the placement of his arm made sure he couldn't jump up over it. There was only one way he could go.

The goat performed an impressive backwards flick - flack jump, putting him safely out of range of the leg sweep.

But also turning his back to Lee for just a split second.

Lee followed, jumping forward and shooting his palm out to where he calculated the marks throat would be when he stood up.

His aim was true and with laugh of triumph, he grabbed the goat by the throat.

The mark, surprised, bleated and flailed his limbs wildly, giving Lee just enough time to swing around and wrap his arm around his throat, placing the other hand on the back of his head, effectively putting the mark in a headlock.

Just as he did, he heard the satisfying *click* of a magazine being slid into a gun.

Turning his hips and tightening his grip, Lee put all his strength into throwing the mark around, attempting to put him between Sam and himself.

Only to find that couldn't. The goat firmly stood his ground.

Lee was, by his own estimation, no weakling, the rigors of his proffesion and always being on the move kept him strong, and while not as physically powerful as Sam, it was rare he couldn't overpower most grown-up men.

Yet this goat was completely resisiting his attempts to move him around. He silently chided himself for not reading up on the empowering effects human SOULS cold have on monsters.

" _LEE! I CAN'T GET A SHOT OFF!"_ Sam called out.

" _THEN MOVE AROUND YOU DOOFUS!"_ Lee responded.

Sam obeyed dutifully, stomping away from the discarded briefcase and attempted to circle around them.

To Lees annoyance, the mark kicked out at a wall and pushed off, the force strong enough to spin them both around, keeping Lee between Sam and the mark.

Sam stopped and doubled back, yet at every turn, the mark managed to keep Lee in the way.

With frustration, Lee realized what was going on. The goat had completely turned his plan on its head. Not only was he unable to move the mark around, but he was effectively using him as a kind of meatshield.

" _Clever, very clever..._ " he growled.

Time for a change of tactics. He might not be able to move the mark into the line of fire, but he still literally held him by the throat. He steadied his stance and tightened his grip.

The mark squirmed. He was strong enough to avoid getting shot, but not enough to pry Lees arm off as he attempted to choke him out.

" _Kreet... me...gro"_ The prince gasped, voice distorted by the choking

" _Just stand still, it'll be over in a minute"_

" _Kreet me... gro.. or i'll..."_

" _Haha, you'll what? Bleat me to death? Speak up, goatface!"_

Suddenly, the goats right paw exploded into flames. In a rare moment of utter stupification, Lee mused.

" _Oh right. Magic. Forgot about that"_

The goat clasped his fiery hand around lee's right leg. The white-hot pain that exploded into him was so intense it almost took him a full second to register it.

He howled in pain and grasped at the wound with his right hand in pure reflex. Losening his grip on the mark in the progress.

In quick response, the goat grabbed hold of his remaining arm and threw him over his shoulder. Lee screamed again. He could see that with the trajectory he was going, he would land among broken, jagged pieces of burning wood.

But then, with a grunt of effort from the mark, he changed direction, instead being sent flying towards the safety of a couch.

" _I'M CLEAR! SHOOT!"_ He cried out, even before he landed.

* * *

Asriel cursed under his breath. He had put too much effort into throwing the human to safety, and he knew he wouldn't be able to regain his balance before the other fired.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw him. Still with his sinister smile, and holding a weapon that promised a quick, ignominious death.

He closed his eyes, awaiting oblivion.

But then opened them again when he heard a loud crash and the human cry out in surprise.

MK had charged trough the door, tackling Sam to the ground in doing so.

Blinking a few times out of her surprise, Asriel darted forward. The human was already standing up. Just before he shouldered the weapon, Asriel got into range. He kicked upwards towards the weapon, with enough force to send himself into back-flip, flash kicking the gun out of Sams hands.

Sam roared in indignity and threw a punch towards Asriel, but it was slow and sluggish, and he nimbly tilted his head to the side before responding with a headbutt that knocked him out cold.

To his side, he heard MK gasp in awe.

" _WAAAAAaaaaaaw..."_

He turned to him.

" _Uhh, howdy MK, thanks for the assist"._

MK beamed, nodding vigorously.

" _I thought you we're going to save people, but it's waaaaay cooler when you beat them up!"_

" _Glad you enjoyed the show, but these people are dangerous. We gotta go!"_

Asriel ran for the now opened door. Just as he reached the doorstep, he froze in fear as he head the gun click again. He quickly spun around, finding Lee aiming down the barrel, towards MK.

Without thinking, he jumped.

* * *

Lee was equal parts furious and equal parts ashamed. In the loosely-knit community of underground hitmen, he, along with Sam were considered among the best, and he took great care in nurturing their reputation.

But now, everything was ruined. Sam was knocked out and the mark was running for the door. Once word got out that they had failed a contract on an 18-year old, and monster to boot, he'd be made a laughing stock.

By god, someone was was going to die for this!

He shoulder the gun and aimed at the only living and conscious being left in the room. The yellow lizard-like monster that had breached the door.

With grim satisfaction, he watched as the monster filled in his crosshair.

And he pulled the trigger.

As the unexpectedly absurd recoil knocked him off his feet and smashed him against a wall, he once again chided himself for his lack of preparation.

Grunting in pain, and stumbling to his feet, he looked up, expecting to find a cloud of dust flying about the room.

Instead he found the prince, arms spread out and gaping hole in his chest standing in front of the lizard.

For a moment, they locked eyes. Lee felt a tingle run down his spine and even an odd bit of fear as he noticed the stern defiance in the goats eyes.

But then the mark slumped forward down and collapsed on the floor.

Lee stared in wonderment. His foul mood brightened. The damn goat they had struggled so much with had simply thrown himself in front of the bullet. The day was saved!

He was snapped out of his reverie by a loud, beastly roar of anger, and he quickly scanned the room for dinosaurs.

Instead, he found the small lizard running straight at him.

He raised the rifle once more, but winced when the realized the previous recoil had apparently dislocated his shoulder.

Instead, he changed his grip on the gun and swung it towards the incoming raging missile. His attempt was woefully insufficient. The gun shattered upon contact with the little yellow lizards concrete-hard head, and it continued forward, smashing into his chest to send them both flying backwards and trough the already weakened and brittle wall, sending them both plummeting towards the ground, almost 13 meters below.


	13. Nightmare

_A lightning flash of cold pain struck Toriel in the heart. She clutched at her chest as tears pooled in her eyes. She didn't know why, but for some reason, she could feel that someone close to her heart were in mortal danger._

To her side, Asgore was similarly affected. It wasn't an unfamiliar pain. They had both witnessed it once before, when their son had turned to dust in their very garden.

Quivering, and unable to control their unexplainable grief, they leaned into each other. Their hands were bound, but still they found support in one another.

Up on his dais, the human observed the scene before him first with a face of wonder, that then changed to one of sad acceptance.

" _ _I see... looks like I won't get to meet this "hero of monsters"... a pity"__

His words were the chip that finally broke the dam, and Toriel burst into sobbing.

" _ _I've always envied you monster that. Your seemingly innate compassion that goes beyond the mundane"__ The human said as he trotted about his dais.

" _ _It's one of the reasons I__ _ _regret having__ _ _do this;__ _ _it's... beautiful, almost.__ _ _Despite what you may think, I don't consider love and compassion as weaknesses. There are few motives and reasons to fight stronger than those"__

The 2 monster monarchs were bawling, yet trough their tears they managed to hang onto his words.

" _ _I know what it's like to lose family. What's it like to stand helplessly, unable to do anything as you watch the life slowly bleed out of those you once swore you'd protect"__

He turned to the 2 monsters with a sympathetic face.

" _ _That's why I'll allow you to say goodbye one last time once his SOUL gets delivered to me. You'll get to give your final farewells...__

 _ _...again"__ he silently added.

* * *

When Asriel came to, it wasn't where he'd expected. In fact, he hadn't thought he'd wake up at all; he'd felt the bullet enter and exit him, he saw the flustered human grin in triumph, and he felt the cold embrace of death claim him. All around him was darkness, yet he felt whole, present. He patted himself over, the fur on his face and fabric of his robes was all there, as was the gaping bullet wound right above his heart. Strangely enough, he felt no pain from the dust-leaking hole.

" _ _Howdy!"__ A sickeningly familiar voice called out.

Asriel gritted his teeth in frustration, he really didn't need this now.

He turned around, finding, just as suspected, the evil old flower.

" _ _Flowey... I thought I got rid of you__ " He scowled.

" _ _Well,__ __can't keep a good weed down"__

Asriel didn't answer, instead just glared at the flower in anger.

The flower sighed.

" _ _Look, Azzy, buddy. How about we call a ceasefire, eh? I won't try to take control of your body again, I promise... Unless you want me to...?__

Asriel growled, promping the flower to back off a few inches.

" _ _I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Look, all I'm saying is we're stuck with each other, you don't like me and I can't really do anything to you, other than a slow infection of your SOUL, and frankly, that's gonna take too long"__

Asriel raised a questioning eyebrow.

" _ _Those... dark thoughts I__ _ _'ve__ _ _had. That was you?"__

" _ _Guilty as charged, but as I said, I'm dropping that for now...instead, why don't we work together?__

" _ _Not in a million years!"__

" _ _Aww, c'mon! Lemme show you what I mean"__

" _ _No, I don't-"__

The darkness above them suddenly exploded into life. Images shimmering Like a giant TV screen. He saw himself standing on the edge of a cliff. The sky above him was blood-red, flecked with black, thundering clouds. In one hand, he held high a banner bearing the Delta Rune, in the other a Chaos saber. Both items, as well as his robes, seemed oddly off-color. With horror, he realized why; they were stained with blood, human blood.

The view zoomed out. Behind him stood hundreds of thousands of monsters clad for war, cheering at him. In front of him, below the cliff's edge, was a bloodbath. Dead and dying humans littered the field, alongside magically exploded tanks and magic-fire scorched airplanes.

A loud thunderclap sounded and the skies darkened even more. As one, small differently colored hearts streamed out of the humans. The bloodied Asriel reached out a paw and the hearts jetted over to him. He gestured behind him, and out of the assembled monster, a few figures emerged.

Undyne, clad in her gore-splattered armor alongside similarly bloodied members of the royal guard. She wore her helm, making it impossible to read her face.

sans, looking exactly as he always did, yet his trademark skeletal grin did seem a few inches lower than usual. Papyrus's scarf fluttered from his neck, but his brother was nowhere to be seen.

Alphys, piloting what appeared to be a mecha based on Mettatons design. Her eyes were completely locked on the bloodied Asriel, fingers trembling in apparent fear.

Even Monster Kid stood forth, bearing an onion-shaped helmet and armor. Crude, cyber-magic arms had been grafted to his sides, bristling with blades, guns and assorted killing tools. Frighteningly, he still held child-like wonder in his eyes when he looked as the bloodied Asriel

And... his parents. His mother clad in armor he had never seen before, and his father in the same plate-mail he usually wore. They both smiled, but it weren't the usual warm ones, they looked forced. His father grabbed his trident tightly, as if he expected combat to erupt at any moment.

Up on the cliffs edge, the bloodied Asriel threw his arms wide, encompassing the floating plethora of SOULS and the battlefield in front of them. His off-shoulder cloak fluttered fiercely in the wind as he spoke.

" _ _REJOICE, MY SUBJECTS! WITH THIS FINAL, DEVASTATING VICTORY WE HAVE CLEANSED THE SURFACE OF EVERY MISERABLE HUMAN AND THEIR EVEN MORE PATHETHIC SYMPATHISERS!"__

Cheers erupted from the gathered monster army, but even watching and hearing from a mind-vision, Asriel could tell many of them were half-hearted.

" _ _WE HAVE DEFEATED OUR GREATEST ENEMY, YES, BUT WE CANNOT REST YET. EVEN NOW, DISLOYAL MONSTERS PLOT AND SCHEME AGAINST THEIR__ _ _RIGH__ _ _TFUL RULER! TRAITORIOUS ELEMENTS THAT WOULD SEE ME OFF THE THRONE!__

 _ _BUT THOSE ARE MATTERS FOR TOMMOROW! TODAY, WE CELEBRATE! EARTH IS MONSTERKINDS TO RULE! AND MONSTERKIND... IS MINE TO COMMAND!"__

Yet again, cheers erupted and yet again they rung false.

The bloodied Asriel turned around and gestured to the SOULS. The most powerful ones assembled around him, the others hung still above the battlefield.

He held out a bloodied paw, and clenched it into a fist. Immediately, the static souls shook, distant, ethereal-like screams rung out from them as they begun to crack and fracture. Then, with another thunderclap-like roar, they burst, spreading small fragments all over the battlefield.

The bloodied Asriel turned around to face the monster army. The SOULS that he hadn't destroyed hung lazily above him. They swished back and forth, straining, as if trying to escape out of an invisible net.

" _ _SOME OF YOU HAVE IMPRESSED ME; YOU WILL BE REWARDED WITH UNIMAGINABLE POWER! MANY OF YOU HAVE DISSAPOINTED ME; YOU WIL BE PUNISHED WITH A FATE WORSE THEN DEATH! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!"__

Mumblings broke out amongst the gathered monster soldiers. At the front, a crocodile monster fell to her knees, crying, hands on her eyes as she sobbed.

The bloodied Asriel held his Chaos saber high

" _ _FOR MONSTERKIND!"__

Immediately, every monster raised their weapons.

" _ _FOR GOD-KING ASRIEL! MAY HE REIGN ETERNAL!"__ They all shouted in unison, straining to be heard over the others. The fear was evident on their faces.

For the first time, Asriel got a good look at his bloodied alter-ego. He wore the same robes as he currently did, yet it had clearly been reinforced with leather-padding and steel. More noticeable was the glow around him. He literally radiated magical power, even more so than when he had absorbed the 7 human SOULS back in the underground.

But the biggest difference was in his features. His horns had grown. Longer than his fathers, they curled multiple times and had spikes jutting out of them. His eyes were also alight with a hellish-red glow, and the evil grin on his muzzle revealed rows of razor-sharp fangs.

* * *

Flowey observed the amazed goat with cold glee. He had purposefully omitted any killings from the showing of this possible future, having long ago learned that murder was a bit of a deal breaker.

" _ _So, whaddya say?"__ He asked.

Asriel continued to stare at the scene above him.

" _ _Just an idea I had. I've always known Frisks SOUL gave you a lot more "oomph" than your regular monster ones, but when I, uhh, rode shotgun in your body, I came to realize just how powerful you are!"__

The goat finally tore his eyes off the mind-vision, instead fixating on Flowey.

" _ _With that power, you could unite all of monsterkind under your rule, forcefully if need be! You could sweep the human armies aside like a broom sweeps dust, and you could grow stronger from their SOULS! Sharing the spoils with others! We could rule the surface! We could-"__

" _ _No"__

" _ _I knew you'd agree! Oh this'll be so fu- wait, what!?"__

" _ _No"__ Asriel coldly repeated.

Flowey stared dumbfounded for a moment.

" _ _Uhh, b-but, Asriel... don't you want a better life for all monsters? To give them a bright future as rulers of the surface? Just think of-"__

" _ _Come on Flowey, I'm not stupid, I know that's not why you're showing me this"__

" _ _Hehe, well no, but consider it as a mutually beneficial arrangement; you get to make a better life for everyone, and I get a front-row seat to the whole spectacle!"__ Flowey said gleefully, rubbing his vines together in excitement.

" _ _And what about the humans then?"__ Asriel asked.

" _ _What about 'em? You don't owe them anything. They've done nothing more than hurt and look down upon you ever since you all came to the surface, so why not-"__

" _ _Destroy them all, is that it?"__

" _ _Yes! You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs! And honestly, it wouldn't be any different than what they once did to you! It would be justice, so why not have a little fun while doing it?"__

Asriel merely shook his head in response

" _ _Oh c'mon! I know you don't like violence and all that, but can't you see the this would be for the betterment of all monsters!"__

" _ _And you think they'd like that?"__

" _ _Uhh... yes...?"__

" _ _Then you don't know anything about us. You haven't learned"__

Asriel looked away, into the deep darkness surrounding them.

" _ _Monsters require love, hope and compassion to live; how do you think we would fare if our happiness was built upon the bones of 7 billion dead humans?"__

He looked back at the flower.

" _ _And besides, none of the humans who drove us underground still live – why should their descendants suffer for their actions? I know they haven't been as... welcoming as I would have hoped, but there's many good people amongst them, they don't deserve such a fate. We can't just kill them"__

 _He sighed deeply_

" _ _Our SOULS wouldn't be able to handle that... but I guess you can't understand that, I didn't when I was..."__ He glanced away, eyes reflecting the sadness of past memories.

Almost a whole minute of silence passed before Flowey broke it.

" _ _Even after everything? Even after sealing your people underground, even after denying you equal rights on the surface and even after getting shot by those 2 schmucks you tried to save, you still think humans deserve mercy and compassion?"__

Asriel nodded.

" _ _Yeah... Humans might be a little more...__ _ _extreme__ _ _than us monsters, but__ _ _they haven't done anything we monsters couldn't do...__

 _… _or have done__ _" he quietly added._

Flowey chuckled

 _"_ _ _You're talking about me, right?__ _ _"__

" _ _Nope... not__ _ _just__ _ _you"__

Flowey looked taken aback by the answer, clearly not the response he had expected. Once again, silence descended.

This time it was broken by a sigh from Asriel.

" _ _None of that matter__ _ _s__ _ _now, though. I'm... We're dead, aren't we?"__

Asriel sat down, defeated.

" _ _You know, I don't remember much of... my first time. It was like a... dark, cold sleep, but it was kinda peaceful at least"__

He looked around the dark void surrounding them, tears welling up in his eyes.

 _ _"I guess this is my punishment then, for believing I could have a second chance. No rest, no ligh__ _ _t__ _ _, no one to talk to..."__

Asriel felt a pang of guilt. He knew Flowey was with him, but in all honesty, he wasn't very good company. It wouldn't be so bad if Frisk was there, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Despair overwhelmed him. This was truly his worst nightmare made reality. At least he had been soulless the last time, he hadn't had it in him to feel sorrow. But not this time.

" _ _We aren't dead, idiot"__ Flowey suddenly said matter-of-factly.

" _ _Wh-what?"__ Asriel said, voice groggy. He wiped his face with one of his ears.

" _ _Look, I know a thing or 2 about being dead, and believe me, this is not it"__

" _ _Then... what...? Where are we?"__

" _ _Inside your head; asleep I'd wager"__ Flowey said, looking bored.

Asriel dared to feel relief. He knew this could very well be a ploy to get his hopes up and then dash them, but he desperately, truly wanted to not end up all alone in this void.

Suddenly, the darkness all around began to shimmer and take on color. Cracks began to form and light streamed trough them.

" _ _Speak of the devil"__ Flowey quirped _"_ _ _Looks like the Sleeping Beauty is waking up"__

Asriel got to his feet, it was all he could do not to jump and shout in joy.

" _ _Do make the best of it. I am in your SOUL now, and I WILL find a way to make it mine! HAHAHA!__ _ _Sooner or later, your body will answer to me! HAHAHA!__ _ _"__

As the flower's mad cackle faded, Asriel suddenly lost hold of himself. His vision went dark.

Then, suddenly, draped in comfortable blankets, beneath a searingly bright lamp and under the gaze of what looked like an ancient human woman, Asriel woke up.


	14. Awakening

_Slowly, the pain in Toriels heart slowly lessened until it was nothing more than a dull ache. Relief flooded trough her body, as she and Asgore both sighed in relief_ _at the implication_ _. Even the human,_ _watching the easing Dreemurrs,_ _seemed pleased._

" _ _It would appear to me that the prince has survived. Guess I'll have to look for better "employees" in the future"__ he said, sounding pleased.

Both monster monarchs shot him an angry look.

As if reading their minds, the human began _"_ _ _Oh yes, I did arrange for a few incidents to befall our young prince. I was almost worried he would've died ahead of schedule, but it looks like we're back on track"__

" _ _You fiend!"__ Toriel suddenly burst out _"_ _ _Why even bother luring Asriel here if you are trying to kill him before he arrives!?"__

The human almost seemed flustered by the anger in her words.

" _ _We-well"__ he began, recomposing himself _"_ _ _Think of it as a test, if you will"__

" _ _A TEST!?"__

" _ _Quite so.__ _ _Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you also plan on sending your son on a kind of test? The, uh, what was the name... Crownquest, yes! Well, ironically, I have done something similar.__ _ _I need the power of a SOUL only one such as his posses, but... As you know, a SOUL is the culmination of one's entire being. If I am to use his, I need to know what qualities, strengths and weaknesses he has. Can he fight when he needs to? Can he be merciful when it is an option? Important details."__

" _ _And I suppose you will be the final test then?"__ Asgore glowered.

" _ _Hoho! Not exactly. If our guest makes it here, he will have gone trough every test, and I will be certain whether or not I can use his SOUL. No, my role is more that of...__

… His __Judge, Jury and Executioner"__

* * *

Asriel slowly tried to blink the tiredness out of his eyes. As he did, the room he was in slowly came more and more into view. It was an old, dusty looking locale. The walls were painted an ugly brown and in several places the paint flaked of in tatters. On them hung thick tapestries made of expensive looking fabrics, depicting what looked like monsters in various scenes. Here was one showing a horned monster kneeling and being given a crown by another, there was one with the same horned monster shaking hands with a crowned human. Yet another showed what looked like armored temmies fighting a dragon.

They were all rich with colors, and flush with impressive details.

Over in the corner, working with a sewing machine, sat the likely creator of the tapestries. An old woman, clad in brown, monk-like looking robes. The apparatus she was working with looked almost as ancient as herself.

With a hint of concern, Asriel noticed she were working on his robes.

Following that thought, he moved a paw to his chest, just now realizing he was wearing nothing but his underwear. The bullet wound was gone, and in its stead he found a patch of bare skin where the fur had been.

Everything told him that he was safe, that the human working the corner was friendly, and yet, a strange malice hung in the air. Something evil had happened here once.

" _ _I would hope not every member of the royal family sleeps in like that"__ the old woman suddenly croaked.

Asriel froze beneath the covers. Were she talking to him? Of course she must be, how many other royal me-

" _ _I am talking to you, young prince, you cannot fool these old eyes, I know you are awake"__

Asriel sheepishly sat up, blushing ever so slightly in embarrassment of being found out.

" _ _Uhhm, sorry"__ he quietly said.

The old woman merely shook her head in response.

Silence descended on the room once again. Asriel looked around, at the woman, at the tapestries, at the door, anything to relieve the awkwardness. For a moment, he pondered laying down and going back to sleep.

Suddenly, the old woman sighed _"_ _ _Would you like to know how you came to be here?"__ She asked tiredly.

" _ _Well... yes, if you would"__

The old woman sighed again.

" _ _So that is how__ _ _it is__ _ _now, huh?"__

" _ _Wh- what do you mean?"__

The old human got up from her working chair.

" _ _I know many human royals expected their servants and commoners to cater to their every wish and desire, even those left unsaid. But I had expected more from the likes of you monster royals"__

" _ _Wha- No! That's not what I meant!"__ Asriel responded, flustered. There was something about her voice that absolutely dripped with almost grandmotherly scorn and disappointment. Despite never having met her, Asriel felt hot shame flood his face at every word. She were mistaking his timidness for arrogance, and yet he couldn't help but feel that he was the one in the wrong.

" _ _The old monster monarchy wasn't like that. Your grandfather, now there was a true hero of the people"__ She said, gazing up at the ceiling almost dreamingly.

The shame was completely replaced with curiosity.

" _ _My grandfather?"__ He asked.

" _ _Indeed, him and his wife, the last monster rulers on the surface. I've only heard stories, mind you, but it is said they treated even the lowliest servant and beggar as close family. Every week, they would walk around Los Suenos, greeting their citizen, granting their blessings. Oh, how I wish I could have witnessed it..."__

Asriel felt pride well up in his chest. In truth, he had never heard nor asked about any of his grandparents. Most monsters had been loath to recall the happier memories of the surface, it was simply too painful.

" _ _But you younglings nowadays. You care not one whit about your history and ancestry. A shame, I say, a shame!"__

There was that familiar burning sensation in his chest again, but he crammed it down, this was too important to let go.

" _ _Where did you hear about them?"__ Asriel asked with wonder in his voice.

The human sighed.

" _ _As I feared then, the memories and knowledge of such great people have not been carried on, even by their own descendants... But I will tell you. My__ _ _ancestor__ _ _used to work as a maid for your family, back before the war"__

Asriels eyes went wide as he sat andd listened, tightly hugging a pillow to his chest.

" _ _The humans burned the palace archives and almost every text and book that made mention of your grandparents... so I suppose I cannot hold you too accountable for your lack of knowledge on the matter. But__ _ _while your family might have forgotten the glorious days of the past,__ _ _their legacy has been passed down among__ _ _mine__ _ _"__

Asriel was trembling. Here was another person with a direct link to the old monster kingdom, other than his own family. He had so many questions, so much he wanted to know.

But above all, there was one question, more important than any he could ask about the old kingdom, that came to mind

" _ _I, uhh, had a friend with me. Small, yellow lizard-like guy. Is he ok?"__ he asked.

The old woman looked surprised, but then slowly more relieved.

" _ _Hoho, what is this? Does the new royal__ _ _ty__ _ _still concern himself with his subjects?"__

" _ _He's not a "subject!" he's my friend!"__ _Asriel pouted_

The human smiled.

" _ _In that case, you will be glad to hear that he is fine. And because of him, you are as well"__

" _ _What do you mean?"__

The human walked over to his beside. Asriel couldn't help but tense up a bit, and tried to sink deeper beneath the covers as she got closer.

She ran a gnarled but surprisingly soft finger across the naked patch on his chest.

" _ _This wound would have killed you, had it not been for your friend. He almost drained himself dry of dust to keep you alive"__

" _ _MK..."__ Asriel quietly whispered, as he moved a hand up to join the womans on his chest where the wound had been.

" _ _He really cares about you... perhaps you new royals haven't been so lax in your duties to your people as I had feared"__ the old woman said, still smiling.

Asriel felt a warmth spread trough his chest. The thought that somebody would willingly sacrifice themselves for his sake made him somehow feel both proud and ashamed all at once. Frisk had once given their SOUL so he could live, now MK had almost sacrificed his body for the same reasons.

Why did so many good people have to suffer because of him?

" _ _You should have seen the poor thing when I pulled you out of that burning building. I do not believe I have ever seen anyone so scared and frightened. Why, he practically "shot" tears rather then cry them"__

" _ _But he'll be ok?"__

" _ _Yes, do not fret. He is sleeping right now. The transfusion has weakened him but he will make a full recovery"__

" _ _Phew, that's a relief"__

" _ _Oh, lest I forget. I managed to grab hold of the 2 other humans from the apartment. They are in the next room, one of them is awake"__

Asriel felt cold fear run down his back. She could only mean Lee and Sam, the 2 humans that had tried to kill him and MK.

Reading the emotions on his face, the old woman began.

" _ _Worry not, I know they were the ones that tried to kill you, but I do not believe they have the same intent anymore"__

She looked away, over at the door.

" _ _The one who is awake actually came to see you while you were asleep. He did not say anything, but if he had wanted to kill you... well, there was not much I could have done__ _ _to stop him,__ _ _then"__

Asriel shivered. The thought that one of those murderous humans had loomed over him in his sleep was terrifying. But why had they not killed him? He had seen the contract on him in their hotel room, with so much money on the line, one would think they would stop at nothing. But they had.

" _ _Would you like to talk to them?"__

" _ _Uhh, what?"__ Asriel said as he shook his head. Snapping out of his thoughts.

" _ _I can imagine the 2 gentlemen in the next room have some vital information concerning your, what did they call it... Crownquest?"__

Asriels ears slightly twitched at the word. She had to have been right, of course. The ransom letter had only demanded that he come to the island with no further instructions. The 2 hitmen were his only other lead.

But the thought that this whole endeavor might actually be his crownquest still seemed strange. Every king or queen to be in his family would have to undergo some grand adventure or test to determine whether or not they were worthy of the crown. Some were more dangerous than others, but he had always been told that "no true Dreemurr" had ever failed.

And he was determined not to be the first.

" _ _You might be right. I'll go talk to them"__ Asriel said, and swung his legs out of the bed. Immediately he felt nauseous. His feet felt wobbly on the ground and his head was spinning.

" _ _Easy there, young lad, human SOUL or not, one does not so easily recover from near death. Here, drink this"__

She handed him a teacup, filled with a brownish liquid. The smell was instantly familiar.

Golden Flower tea.

Asriel downed it all in one gulp. It was hot, almost scalding but immediately, he felt his strength returning.

 _ _My__ _ _ancestor__ _ _learned the recipe from your grandfather. It was his favorite, I have been told"__ The old woman said, recognizing the look of familiarity on Asriels face.

" _ _Dad..."__ Asriel thought. When he... IF he rescued his family, he would have to talk to them about the old monster royalty. There was so much he wanted to know!

But those were questions for another time.

With his newfound stability, he stood up. Taking a moment to ensure he wouldn't fall.

Satisfied, he gave the woman a court nod, and walked towards the door. Just before he reached it, he heard the woman laughing behind his back

" _ _They might not want to kill you anymore, but I think you have yet to reach the point where they are comfortable seeing you like that"__ the old woman suddenly said behind him.

Asriel spun around _"_ _ _What?"__

The women chuckled and blushed. For just a fleeting moments, it was like her features flattened and straightened, she almost looked and sounded like a blushing young girl.

" _ _Good heavens my boy, you're almost making me fall head over heels for you with that body of yours"__

" _ _Huh?"__ Asriel looked down, just now realizing he was still clad in just his underwear.

" _ _A__ _ _AA__ _ _H!"__

The woman howled a coughing laughter, before gesturing to her sewing machine, where she had been patching the bullet hole in his robes.

* * *

Suitably dressed, Asriel slowly opened the door, revealing a darkened room and an audible snoring. He quietly entered, in order to not wake whoever was sleeping and because somewhere in here, a man who had tried to kill him just a few...

How long had he been asleep?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he saw a figure sitting cross-legged and bare-chested in a corner, staring back at him.

It was the human, the one called Lee.

For just a second, Asriel tensed up completely. His paws clenched into fists, ready to fight. The human likewise fixed him with a hard glare, sitting more straight.

But nothing happened. The human casually returned to regard another figure in the room; the other human, snoring loudly as he slept on a cot on the floor.

Asriel took few more steeps into the room. As his eyes became more accustomed to the dark, he suddenly saw how injured both humans were.

Lee had his left arm in a sling, a good amount of bandage wrapped around his chest and what looked like a splint on his left leg. Propped against a wall also stood a crutch.

Sam hadn't fared much better. Gauze rand around his head, covering his right eyes, and his arms and legs were covered in burn wounds. Didn't seem to interrupt his sleeping though.

Asriels paws flew to his mouth. Both humans had been absolutely mangled, at his hands. He didn't remember being that violent, but-

" _ _Admiring your handiwork?__ _ _Come to gloat?__ _ _"__ Lee quietly asked, not even sounding sarcastic.

" _ _My god... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you that much! How can-"__

" _ _Calm down, you didn't do nothing.__ _ _This here?"__ Lee said, gesturing to his injured limbs.

" _ _Your asshole lizard friend did this. Tackled me trough the fucking wall, down a few meters and then partly in a dumpster"__

Asriel felt a bit of sympathy drain away at the humans description of MK _"_ _ _Partly?"__

" _ _Well, yeah. If it had been fully I wouldn't look like a half-wrapped mummy now, would I?"__

His arms fell lax at his sides.

" _ _You gave my buddy a good beating though. Knocked him out so cold he didn't even feel the fire burning him, bless him"__

" _ _Golly... will he be alright?"__ Asriel asked, concerned.

" _ _Why do you care?"__

" _ _I-I never wanted anyone to get hurt"__

Lee raised a questioning eyebrow.

" _ _Who the hell are you?"__ he asked.

" _ _Uhhm, well, I'm Asriel! Prince of-"__

" _ _Do you have aspergers or something?"__

" _ _What!? No!?"__

Lee shook his head, looking both distressed and confused.

" _ _This has got to be the weirdest job I've ever taken. Shoulda' known 500 billion for a single, unsuspecting mark wouldn't be without a catch"__

Asriel continued to listen as the human drew a deep sigh.

" _ _I read the briefing on you. I knew you were dangerous. When we went hand-to-hand back in that fucking inferno, I half expected you to be cold, heartless killer. Everything about your profile said that you would probably be a cruel little bastard..."__

He looked back at Asriel, his face still looking absolutely mystified.

" _ _And then you asked if we couldn't be friends... who the hell ask 2 guys trying to kill him to be friends!?"__

" _ _Well, I-"__

" _ _And who the hell does that while successfully fending off 2 experienced hitmen? Believe me, I've been in this game for a long time. I know a trained killer when I see one.__ _ _Honestly, who've ever heard of a "Killer Prince"?__ _ _"__

Those last words struck a chord deep within Asriel, and he immediately tensed up. His hands clenched into fists and his eyes closed. The lips on the sides of his muzzle curled back, revealing gritted teeth.

" _ _I'm not a killer..."__ He quietly said.

" _ _Well, you sure don't act like one, but-"__

" _ _I'm NOT a killer!"__ Asriel repeated louder. As much to convince himself as Lee.

" _ _Look, being a good fighter is nothing to be ashamed about. I mean, I do it as a business but you do it as self-defense.__ _ _What happened back at the hotel just goes to show__ _ _, sometimes it's kill or be killed"__ Lee said, completely oblivious to the pain he was causing.

Asriel let out an audible whimper. Deep inside, he could hear the evil flower cackle manically at his torment of having his worst doubts about himself confirmed.

He fell onto his hands, breathing heavily. This was the first time anyone had ever called a killer since he had returned, other than Flowey. Ever since, he had tried to distance himself as much as possible from his past life. But now it was like the walls he had built up came tumbling down.

From across the room, Lee watched the spectacle unfold with great curiosity. He had obviously struck a nerve somewhere, and usually he'd be gloating at watching someone who had humiliated him so much suffer. But in this instance, he couldn't help but feel bad. It was rare he met a completely good person, and this one certainly had some dark secrets. But maybe, just maybe, he didn't deserve this.

" _ _Hey, buddy. I didn't mean it like that. You might not be a killer per say, I just meant that sometimes a little bit of the right amount of violence can, uhh... do a lot of good?"__ He silently chided himself at the poor compliment, it wasn't often he did anything of the sort.

Asriel shook his head. _"_ _ _No... violence only breeds... violence"__ He said between heaving breaths.

" _ _If you believe that, why're you so good at it?"__

Asriel knew the answer was obvious. As much as to prepare him for the crownquest, his training with Undyne had also meant he could defend himself if need be. As the prince of all monsters, he was too valuable to lose and the Royal Guard couldn't always be around do protect him. Life on the surface, although much happier for everyone, had also proven to be much more dangerous than underground, and he needed to be able to protect himself. His mother and Undyne had also repeatedly stressed the point that he should only ever fight in self-defense or the defense of others, and he had, he thought.

But in so doing, he had hurt a lot of people. The man aboard the boat had almost died, the other had been mercilessly tortured when he lost control. Sam had been burnt horribly after he had knocked him out.

He hadn't started any of the fights... but then again, neither had Frisk, and they had ended them all without as much as laying a finger on someone. Just more proof that he was unworthy of their SOUL, that he could never be as good as them.

As his doubts and fears commingled within his mind and SOUL, he felt himself being pulled back, deep within himself. His vision darkened. Something or someone was dragging him away.


	15. Advice

_Toriel sighed deeply. She had really messed things up. She knew her intentions had been pure, but her means... perhaps not so much. All she wanted was to restore hope in Asriel, but instead she had lured all of her closest friend into an ambush and Asriel into a trap._

She pondered the implications as she stared out of her cage into the darkened room. The vile human had left some time ago in order to "prepare" for Asriels arrival. She knew her son was powerful and strong, not only from the human SOUL within him but also from 4 years of boot camp at Undyne's mercy.

But would he be strong enough to defeat this human when the time came?

She wanted to have hope, in her heart she believed in him, but her mind was filled with doubt.

" _ _You look beautiful"__ came a deep, but kind, rumbling voice. Asgore, sitting at the other end of the cage, was staring at her.

" _ _Gorey, this is really not the time..."__

" _ _I know... but I fear we might not have much more time at all"__

" _ _Asriel will save us, you__ _ _will__ _ _see"__

" _ _I know he will try, but..."__

Toriel clenched her eyes shut, her shoulders sagging in despair as she heard her own doubts being echoed by her former husband. He knew quite a lot more about combat than her.

" _ _He WILL save us!"__ she said sternly trough gritted teeth.

Asgore simply nodded, not wishing to upset Toriel any more than he already had. He looked over at the now vacant throne at the other end of the room. A long time ago, his father and mother had ruled from there. He winced in discomfort as he remembered the day it had all come tumbling down; the day the humans launched their final attack.

The day of his own crownquest...

He couldn't help but chuckle darkly at the injustice of it all. In this room, he had once lost everything. Now, he might lose it all here again.

* * *

Asriel was back in the darkness. The deep void within himself in which he was pulled whenever he was emotionally vulnerable enough to be dragged in by either Frisk or Flowey. He wished it was Frisk, but hoped it was Flowey. He could deal with the flower easily enough, but having to face up to his savior, what he had done with their SOUL and the second chance at life they had granted him was terrifying and filled him with shame.

As his vision cleared, the perpetrator came into view. Brown hair, slanted eyes, a warm sympathetic smile...

Frisk...

Asriel looked down. He wanted them to scold him, to berate him for still being so weak. Lee had known nothing about his past history and yet he had completely shattered his confidence, without even meaning to. All it had taken were a few choice words, and the Prince of All Monsters had been reduced to a whimpering crybaby.

Even Frisk would think of him as a coward. A fool stuck in the past, unable to let go of the memories that haunted him and ruled his life. He wanted them to acknowledge that, to tell him he was right about himself, to remove the suspicions and replace it with absolute certainty; that he wasn't really a good, strong person, that he-

He felt 2 warm arms wrap around his waist. No, even now they still believed in him. Why? How? How many times had Frisk sent him off with kind words and encouragement, only for him to come back crying and broken?

" _ _Are you alright, Asriel?__ " They whispered softly.

Asriel whimpered. He didn't deserve such caring, but he needed it. Greedily, he returned Frisks hug, pulling them closer, finding that, just like on the boat, he had to kneel down to do so.

" _ _Did that dumb person hurt you?"__ Frisk quietly asked.

Asriel nodded. They were talking to him as a parent would to their child, but he didn't care, he felt safe in their arms, he felt happy.

He felt the hug tighten around him and he responded in kind. If only they were still alive so he could do this as often as he pleased.

" _ _I'm sorry, Frisk"__ He whimpered.

" _ _I know, but you have nothing to be sorry for"__

A lie, and yet it sounded so earnest. How could anyone think he hadn't squandered the second chance they had given him? That despite promising them he would live a full and happy life, he had still felt lonely and afraid almost every single day since he had been saved?

" _ _I'm here for you"__

" _ _Frisk..."__

" _ _I will always be here for you"__

" _ _F-Frisk..."__

" _ _No matter how many times you fall, I will always be there to pick you up"__

* * *

Lee felt a pang of annoyance. His former target, that damn goat, had collapsed unconscious in a pool of his own tears. He had always known he wasn't the greatest at making compliments, but to think he was this bad...

Furthermore, that old hag that had pulled him out of the dumpster and bound his wounds had seemed rather protective of the monster. If she came in and saw this scene...

Wounded or not, he was pretty sure he could still take her out if it came down to it, but he'd really rather not. Hurting and killing for money was a business he could take pride and pleasure in being good at, but hurting and killing out of self-defence and necessity never really felt good. It was also why he hadn't killed the prince in his sleep before. He had proven himself a stronger fighter than both him and Sam – killing him in his sleep would just seem cheap. He was an assassin, not a murderer, dammit!

He limped over to the prone goat, steadying himself on the wall as he went. As he inched closer, he started hearing delirious mumblings coming from him. One word in particular stood out.

" _Frisk"_

Lee had only ever heard of one person with that name. The human that had made it all possible, and then promptly disappeared. Many modern monster history books made mention of this "pacifistic hero" but after the barrier was broken, almost all mention of them ceased.

A sudden realization dawned upon him with icy chill. Asriels brief had mentioned that he had been resurrected from death by a human SOUL, which also had the effect of making him the most powerful monster to exist. Could it be that his benefactor had been none other than Frisk themselves? The pieces were there, but the question remained; Had the prince forcefully taken the SOUL, or had it been given to him?

The answer was so painfully evident he felt stupid for even considering it. The prince was sobbing, whimpering almost, but he was unmistakably smiling in pure joy. Whatever dreams he were having were happy ones, and seemed to include this mysterious Frisk.

" _ _Looks live somebody really cares about you"__ Lee quietly said to no one in particular.

Over in the corner, Sam grunted and turned fitfully in his own sleep, a reminder of his own duties. They hadn't met the client that had ordered Asriels death personally, but he had the feeling they were a dangerous sort. The sort that doesn't forgive failure. He realized he could kill Asriel right now. He was asleep, vulnerable. It would be so easy to just reach down and snap his neck...

But no. If he was to die, he deserved better than to be killed in his sleep. He might be a hired killer, but that didn't mean he was without principles.

The job had been a fiasco, one that had wounded his pride deeply, but wounds could heal, as long as they were alive.

" _ _Don't worry Sam. I'll get us out of this"__

* * *

It felt like they had embraced for hours, yet it could go on for years for all he cared. There we no place safer, no place happier than in their arms.

The tears had gone, replaced now by happy sighs. Slowly, he could feel himself fading away; he was waking up.

It had been an uneventful meeting. No long speeches, just a hug and words of encouragement. Simple, but effective. He felt ready to take on the world!

Carefully, he let go, surprised to see that Frisk too, had been crying.

" _ _Be brave, Asriel"__ They said.

Asriel merely smiled happily. Frisk loved how his eyes shone golden whenever he had cried, like an angels'.

Frisk took a deep breath; there was still one last thing to say before they separated, but it wasn't good news.

" _ _Asriel, listen... Flowey has been trying to get into our SOUL. He wants to retake control of your body"__

Asriel shivered. He had heard the flower tell him as much, but the thought of that horrible weed using Frisks SOUL and his body for evil still felt disgusting.

" _ _He won't win"__ He said with determination.

Frisk simply nodded _"_ _ _You have a heart of gold, don't let him take it from you,__ _ _my__ _ _brother"__

Asriel gasped at that final word, touched beyond words at their implications. No matter what happened, he and Frisk would always be siblings, he vowed.

* * *

Asriel woke up, feeling cold on his cheek. As he stood up, he realized with disgust that he had been sleeping with his head in a pool of his own drool, some of which now crusted the hair on his muzzle and right ear.

" _ _Good to see you're alive and well, princes__ _ _s__ _ _"__ Lee said from the other end of the room where he was helping Sam up. He realized with curiosity, the he wasn't even being sarcastic, he actually hoped the goat was well.

" _ _Hah... thanks. Sorry for passing out like that, I- wait, are you leaving?"__ Asriel said, noticing the opened window and ladder behind the 2 humans.

" _ _Yup, gotta scoot before our client comes to collect, and I don't rightly trust the old hag next room"__

The client... the one that must have kidnapped his parents and friends! Asriel realized.

" _ _Your client, who is he? Where can I find him?"__ Asriel asked hurriedly, taking a step forward.

" _ _Sorry buddy, confidential information, can't tell"__ Lee answered dismissively.

" _ _B-but... I need to know!"__ Asriel insisted, practically pouting.

" _ _I'm sure you do, but I'm a professional. I can't go discussing details like that"__

" _ _He has my parents..."__

" _ _I really don't give a flying fu... wait, you mean the king and queen of all monsters?"__ Lee asked, looking surprised.

Asriel nodded excitedly, happy to see he might have convinced the human.

" _ _I need to know where they are so I can save them!"__

Lee pondered this. The goat sounded like a little kid on a childish adventure, not really fitting his somewhat large stature, but somehow adorable as well. In truth, what his client was doing was none of his business, but this was pretty big...

No, he didn't owe the royal monster family anything. Honestly, their benevolent rule and peaceful political attitude could prove bad for business. He couldn't even really tell him anything useful if he wanted to, seeing as he had never met the client directly, and didn't even know where to begin looking for him.

" _ _Too bad buddy, you're on you own"__ he said coldly and returned to helping Sam up.

Asriel felt despair rise up in his throat. These humans were his only lead I finding his parents and friends. If they didn't tell him, if he couldn't reach them in time his parents and friends might... die...

No, better that these humans suffer than that. They didn't care about his friends and family? We'll see what they think once they find out what happens when an empowered boss monster doesn't care about them!

Perhaps he could break Lees remaining leg, immobilize him, then make him watch as he tortures Sam. Perhaps by applying a bit of fire magic to his burn wounds, that should make them talk! Better that these cretins burn in a thousand hells than mom and dad get hurt. Yes, that would-

Asriel stepped back and gasped in horror as he realized what he had been thinking. Horrible, evil thoughts! He would never do something like that! He would never show such disrespect towards Frisk's sacrifice, he swore to himself. Flowey must still be working on infecting his shared SOUL.

He found Lee in the middle of climbing out the window. Sam was gone, probably already down at street level.

He still needed to know though...

" _ _Please..."__ Asriel meekly whispered.

Something about the voice made Lee stop and turn to look at Asriel. He looked absolutely devastated. Arms hung limp at his sides, face and muzzle cast down and shoulders sagging.

Some "Hero" he was, Lee thought.

But more than that, he was also a child, a child worried about his parents.

He really couldn't tell him what he wanted to know. But perhaps he could at least give him a warning.

" _ _Lock your doors tonight"__

" _ _What?"__ Asriel said, looking up, sounding hopeful.

" _ _The client posted about 500 billion on you. Whoever does that doesn't just give up after only 1 try. They'll send more after you"__

Asriel looked around dejectedly. He needed more than just that. He needed help, not a threat.

" _ _Good luck, Asriel Dreemurr"__ Lee said, as he swung his legs out the window and down the ladder.

Ariel was now alone in the room, with no leads to go on, other than that more people would be trying to kill him in the future.

He felt scared, cold and alone. He didn't know what to do, what he-

" _ _Yooo! AZZY!"__ Came a familiar voice from behind.

He was suddenly tackled to the ground as something rammed into him from behind. MK. The ever-loyal MK, of course he was never alone.

 _ _"I'm so glad you're ok! When that stupid human shot you I thought you were dead__ _ _dust__ _ _for sure!"__

Asriel turned around to look at MK. He looked pale, an obvious side effect of the dust transfusion, but he was still as eager and overexcited as ever.

He pulled MK into a hug.

" _ _Thank you MK, my friend"__ He whispered.

" _ _Aww, it was nothing. Anyone would have done the same"__ MK answered, blushing.

Asriel didn't care whether that was true or not. MK had saved his life, and he was still his friend. With him at his side and Frisk in his SOUL, he was ready for whatever the night would bring.

* * *

The old woman looked out the window, towards the setting sun. Down the street she saw 2 monsters, he prince and his reptilian friend. She had given them the address of the only hotel in town that accepted monsters. There, the prince would face his final test.

She sighed. After what she had overheard and witnessed from the peephole looking into the next room, she hoped the prince would be successful. His death would make the world a much drearier place.

Nevertheless, she still had a duty to perform. She opened a drawer and pulled out a cellphone. After dialing a number and hearing someone pick up, she uttered;

" _ _The harvest has passed the trial"__

The other end hung up, a sure sign that her message had been heard and ackowledged. The prince had needed information from the 2 human assassins. Information which they didn't have. The humans had been weak, while the prince had been in top-shape, he could easily have resorted to violence to get what he wanted.

But he hadn't. He had remained calm and had still gotten a useful piece of advice that might save his life.

From the next trial at least, she added. But from the one that would need his SOUL? No, he would need much more than mere advice to overcome him. More than likely, he wouldn't.

* * *

The duo continued down the sunbaked strip, Asriels arm slung around MK, and a wide smile on both of them. Things were looking bleak for them, but it was important to hold onto hope. They may now know where their friends were, but at least they knew what to do next; rent a room, and get some much needed sleep.

 _" _And some grub, I'm starving!"__ MK interjected, head dashing back and forth at he looked for a suitable place.

Asriel placed a paw on his stomach – almost as if insulted by the touch, it growled an angry, hungry note.

 _" _Yeah, I could eat too. It might be better to get some food at the hotel, though, I'm pretty sure the restaurants around here don't allow mon-"__

 _" _THERE! THAT ONE LOOKS GOOD!"__ MK practically shouted, bouncing almost a full 2 meters into the air, while gesturing with his head.

Asriel followed the gesture "Pablo's Pizza Palace" A bright-red neon sign flashed, just above a smaller, white sign stating "monsters allowed" The place wasn't really a parlor as much as a hole in the wall of the side of a building, with a fat, but friendly-looking human standing inside, a greasy kitchen behind him. Nevertheless, it was hard to deny the delicious aroma coming out of the place

Asriel grinned. Of all the inventions humans had made during monsterkinds imprisonment, The Pizza had to rank amongst the best. Such a simple thing; a round piece of baked dough, topped with all kinds of condiments vegetables and meats. Almost as good as pie, really.

Almost...

 _"Yo, can I have a nr. 33 with a large soda?"_ MK ordered the human, already standing at the hole-sized pizzeria.

Asriel chuckled and made to follow, reading off the wall-mounted menu. It wasn't as expansive as one might have hoped, but luckily, he had never been a picky eater.

No snail pizza though...

 _"Ah! 2 monsters in a row! Please sir, come closer, you can have anything you like!"_ The parlor owner said with enthusiasm. Asriel approached, emboldened by the friendly human, the first he had met on the island. He held up his paws.

 _"Thanks for the kind offer, mister, but I won't accept free food from you, money really isn't an issue"_

 _"Ah, but my friend, if money isn't an issue, then why not enjoy a round on the house, eh? It's the least I can do to make up for my country's poor manners towards you"_

 _"Hehe, please mister, there's really no need, I can pay-"_

 _"Come now my friend, my first monster customers in years deserves special treatment! Pick something! The more the better"_

Asriel raised a sly eyebrow. If that was the way he wanted to play, Asriel would play along, but the parlor owner would soon learn why offering free food to a starving, human-SOUL infused boss monster might no be such a good idea.

* * *

MK sat on a bench overlooking the sun slowly sinking in the sea. He gingerly kicked his feet back and forth, periodically lowering his head down to a pizza box at his side to pick up a slice in his mouth.

He felt balance on the bench tilt to the side, as someone sat down beside him. He turned to look.

As he did, his jaw dropped, making a chewed pizza slice slide out onto his lap with a "splat".

Beside him was indeed the prince of monsters, holding a stack of 5 XL-sized pizza boxes.

 _"Holy crap!"_ He exclaimed.

Asriel laughed, amused by MK's surprise. In truth, he had already forgotten the contents of most of his pizzas. One was a regular melted cheese and ham variation, and another had lettuce, tomatoes and dressing, but still; pizza was pizza.

 _"You... you sure you can eat all that?"_ MK asked, still sounding gobsmacked.

 _"Of course. Had to stop myself from ordering 5 more, wouldn't want to take too much advantage"_

 _"Woooooooooow... that is so cool!"_ MK said under his breath.

 _"Hehe, if you say so"_ Asriel answered, turning his head to look at MK's half-finished olive and pineapple pizza.

 _"You sure you can eat all that?"_ Asriel asked, imitating Mk's tone of voice.

MK's response was a simple fearful gasp, followed by him learning over his pizza protectively.

 _"Alright, alright, I get you"_ Asriel with a smile, returning to his own, and looking out over the sunset.

To his side, he heard MK give off a happy sigh as he did the same.

 _"You know, this almost reminds me of my first sunset"_ Asriel said quietly.

 _"Your first one after breaching The Barrier?"_ MK asked.

 _"No, when I-"_ Asriel gave of an audible gasp.

 _"Ehh, I mean yeah, of course! My first, my first sunset. After breaching The Barrier, yes, of course!"_ He fired off rapidly.

 _"Oh, cool, me too"_ MK concurred.

Asriel felt a bead of cold sweat on his brow.

His first sunset...

He had been crying at how beautiful it looked. A red ball in the sky, giving off such a pleasant warmth, illuminating everything in bountiful light.

Chara had even agreed with him that that one had been especially beautiful, even as he held their lifeless corpse in his arms, and he had made his way towards their village.

The only people that knew of that event were his parents, and probably Sans too, even thought nobody had told him.

He felt his heart sink. He hadn't even told MK his true reasons for coming here; that the king, queen and many other important monsters were in mortal danger. He would, he promised himself, he just had to find the right time and moment.

He reached a paw up to pat MK's head. Yes, he deserved the truth, but how would he react? Would he be scared? Would he be angry at him for not telling him sooner? Would he abandon him?

Asriel shivered at the thought. He feared many things, failure, disappointing others, angry humans, flowers and even spiders, but if there was one thing that made his dust run cold, if there was one thing he feared above all others...

It was being alone, while having the capacity to feel loneliness.

* * *

As both of them finished their pizzas, a unanimous decision was made to reach the hotel before it got too dark; the streets were dangerous enough as they were.

Stretching and yawning, Asriel made to return the now-empty pizza boxes to the grateful parlor owner. As he did,he sneakily snuck a human 200-note in between the boxes. Los Suenos was a poor country, and 200 bucks would go a long way.

And really, he deserved it. His mother had often told him it was important to reward kindness, that it might propagate more.

As Asriel turned to leave, exchanging pleasant, friendly goodbyes with the human. A great sense of satisfaction settled over him. Helping others had always made him feel good, but the whole experience with the human was the exact thing he wanted in the world. Monsters and humans, both free of prejudices, helping each other out. It was the world his father had toiled harshly these last 4 years to create.

And, Asriel remembered, it was one that would never come to pass if he were to fail his crownquest.


	16. Night Fight

**Sorry about me dragging my feet about getting these out. I hope the length can make up for it :)**

 **Also, I feel like now might as well be as good a time as any to say that i really appreciate all your comments and likes; you're the greatest!**

* * *

 _Toriel sat, knees hugged to her chest and shivered. This was all her fault. If she had just found another way than the crownquest, or at least another place to go than Los Suenos, then perhaps they all wouldn't be sitting here, awaiting the end of their entire species. She had been meaning to lie; for a good cause she reminded herself, but it was poor consolation._

A dark laugh escaped from her former husband at the other end of the cage.

" _You find all of this amusing, Dreemurr?"_ she asked angrily.

If he was at all intimidated by her anger, he give no indication as such. Asgore just shook his head and continued to stare outwards.

" _Not amusing, just... ridiculous"_

" _Oh?"_

He sighed _"_ _I spent most of my youth in these halls. Happiest time of my life... except for-"_

He looked back at Toriel, smiling sadly.

" _When I met you... and later, Asriel"_

He gestured over to a large, ruined fountain embedded into a wall in the other side of the room.

" _I used to fish there when I wanted to be alone. It was enchanted so there'd always be fish in it. There's something soothing about dropping a line out and just waiting for stuff to happen. You don't haveto do anything; just wait, like dropping teabag into a cup and waiting"_

Toriel raised an eyebrow. Trust him to find pleasure in mind-numbingly dull pastimes.

" _I never really caught anything. Then one day, I figured I could try taping 2 stick to my fishing rod and add snares to those, increase my chances. Golly, I felt like the smartest kid in the world that day"_

Toriel smirked. It was true that Asgore might be one of the largest monsters around, but imagining him as a child still seemed surprisingly easy.

He gestured to a large patch of bare earth, seemingly in start contrast to the marbled floor all around.

" _That's where I learned how to garden. When the war broke out, I was forbidden from leaving the palace grounds, but I wanted to help, it didn't feel right that so many should fight and die while I remained cooped up safe and sound within the palace. So, I decided to grow healing herbs there, my very first garden"_

He lapsed into a tranquil smile, remembering all the hours, days, weeks he had spent growing and tending to herbs and plants that would be used to help save lives. Perhaps not the most fitting vocation for the heir of a whole kingdom, but he didn't care. It brought him more pleasure, satisfaction and contentment than any diplomatic meeting, royal ball or political schooling ever did.

Then he woke up, to the grim reality of his current situation; trapped in cage, hurdling towards an almost inevitably bleak future. If Asriel came, fought and died, and they would be set free, there would be no more gardening, no more fishing, no more quality time spent with friends and family. Even if they were let go, there would be nothing to go back to if Asriel was gone again.

If that happened, he would end it all himself.

* * *

Asriel opened the door, revealing a dusty old room. A large dual bed dominated most of the room. The floor was covered in an ugly moss-green carpet that had several naked patches seemingly burnt off here and there. To the right of the bed was a large, greasy looking window, looking out at the sunset-lit streets of Los Suenos from their 4th floor room. To the left of the bed, standing almost frighteningly close, stood a surprisingly large and sturdy looking wardrobe. Asriel imagined the thing tipping over while they slept, it looked like it could easily crush them both to dust!

A quick look down the hall revealed another boring factor. The rooms didn't have individual bathrooms; instead each floor shared one at the end of each.

He took a step inside. The walls were covered in ugly rosy-red and pinkish paint, and much of the ceiling was covered in yellowed nicotine patches.

It was almost as if someone had made a conscious effort to make the room as unappealing and ugly as possible.

He sighed and dropped down on the bed, didn't feel to bad. The receptionist had been surprisingly tolerant, not overtly friendly, but definitely non-hostile, a nice break from the usual and a pleasant streak with the pizzeria owner in mind . Nevertheless, the walk over to the hotel had been laden with rude gesture, discriminating remarks and angry glares from the townsfolk.

Asriel whimpered softly. He desperately wanted to go home, to Ebott Village where the people were friendly and he didn't have to fear getting assaulted on the streets, to his own room were he didn't have to fear sleeping in an environment that screamed "health hazard"

But he had something very important to do, and he was not quitting now.

A subtle bump told Asriel that MK had dropped on the bed as well. They were both tired, Asriel from the crushing burden on his shoulders and MK from the dust transfusion.

" _So, uhh, what do we do now?"_ MK asked.

" _We wait_ " Asriel simply replied. There really wasn't much else to do. Lee had warned him that more would arrive tonight to kill him. He felt scarred, not so much for his own safety, but for what he might do if he couldn't control Flowey within him, and for MK's safety.

" _Well... if it's okay with you, why don't we just head home? This place stinks...litteraly!"_ MK said.

" _Yeah, it does... We'll go tomorrow, ok?"_ Asriel replied. He still hadn't told him the true reason for coming here, but even MK, somewhat dense as he was, was beginning to realize that something was going on. He really didn't want to let MK go, but it would be for the best. If nothing happened tonight, he would escort MK back to the boat sailing for Ebott Village and stay behind alone to continue the search in the morning.

For some reason, the thought of going on alone scared him more than the thought that there might be hired killers after him.

" _You know, I thought Monsterland would be, I dunno, more monster-friendly?... but still, I'm glad you're here with me, Asriel. I'm happy I got to experience all of this with you, bro"_ MK said softly.

Asriel didn't look over, but he couldn't help but crack a smile

" _You too MK, you too"_

* * *

It was night, just past 11:30 PM. MK was snoring softly, blissfully asleep.

Asriel got up; it was time to prepare.

There were only 2 obvious entries into their room; the door and the window. The door was the most blatant one, it was locked but the rotten wood wouldn't stop a determined killer from simply bashing it down.

The window was another concern. They were on the 4th floor, well above street level but that didn't mean someone couldn't get trough there. A grappling hook or the like would be all that was needed.

Asriel pulled the blinds of the window away. No tall buildings in sight, no fear of getting shot by someone from an elevated position. Might as well leave the blinds away, Asriel thought. Whoever were coming for them knew they were there, so there was no point in hiding, if anything, leaving the window pane bare meant he might have a greater chance of seeing them coming.

With that thought, he returned to the door and knelled down. He willed magic into his fingers as he began to draw a shimmering icon in front of the door. A magical rune. A trap. If the door passed the rune before morning, it would activate, exploding into a howling cacophony that would alarm them, if not the whole city, and hopefully scare any would-be assassins away.

He took a step back, admiring his handiwork. Normally, a rune such as this one would be most commonly used in pranks. You would place one on a chair, for example. Once someone sat on it... well, then the fun began, Asriel thought back. He had tried it on Chara once. They had been so mad... for a while, then they had joined in on the laughter.

This rune here was on a whole other level though. Frisks SOUL had empowered his magical potential. This one was no mere prank, it was a tool of survival.

He looked around the room once more. That large wardrobe was still a concern. Not that someone would be hiding in there, he had checked, but that something might tip it over. He considered moving it, but that would probably wake MK. He could cast a spell that would make it incorporeal but even for him, it would take a long time to cast such a powerful spell.

He returned to the bed. Not much more he could do now. He was still clad in his robes, despite the warmth offered by the bedsheets, just in case he would have to fight anyone. He had laid his quarterstaff on the floor to the right of his bedside, all he would have to do was to reach down, and he would be armed.

As he scanned the room once more, he regretted not finding a safer place for MK. His side of the bed was closer to the window, while Asriels was closer to the door, the most likely way they would come from, if they came at all.

This hotel was the only one in Los Suenos that allowed monsters and thus, it was probably the safest place on the whole island to sleep in. But it also happened to be the place dangerous people were even now converging upon.

It was a dangerous situation, a dangerous island, Asriel thought. Sometimes, in this world, it's-

No! Asriel thought, fending the intrusion on his thoughts off. No one would die tonight, he would see to that.

Even though they were protected by his runic trap, he decided against sleep. Magic was not infallible, and the window was still a threat. He would watch over them the night.

* * *

1:14 PM

Still nothing.

MK was turning happily in his sleep, occasionally muttering words like _"_ _so cool..." "awesome..."_ and the like.

Asriel couldn't help but smile at his childlike innocence. He even envied him; what must it be like to not constantly be plagued by the past? What must it be like not knowing that you're a simple lack of soul away from being a sociopathic murderer? What must it be like to not have the ever-present knowledge that one day you would be responsible for the well-being of thousands of monsters? That the worst that could happen to your parents were an occasional spat, not kidnapping?

Asriel leaned back into his pillow, deep in thought. He didn't know if his parents were even here, on the island, only that someone wanted him dead, desperately.

And the monster royalty disbanded he added, recalling the events on the boat to the island.

But he would save them, he swore he would. Every since word had got out that he had broken the barrier, his people had lauded him as a hero. Perhaps it was time to live up to that moniker. He had the strength and the skills to do so, at least, that's what Undyne always told him.

He would find whoever had taken his mom and dad, and if they had much as hurt a single hair on them, he would visit a hell upon them so supreme they would wish the human body had never evolved pain receptors! He would tear them apart with his claws! Make them drown in their own blood! Make them suffer, make them hurt, make them-

Asriel gasped louder than intended as he snapped out his horrifying trance. His paws were alight with magical flames and the odd glow on the walls told him that his eyes were as well.

He took a few deep breaths, counting the seconds between inhalation and exhalation. Slowly, the fires died out.

No, if- WHEN he found whoever had taken his parents, he would try his best to forgive them. He would demand an explanation, of course, but he still believed no one choose to be evil. Whoever had done it must have had reasons beyond mere hurting.

He felt scared. Flowey was gaining more and more traction within his SOUL. The dark thoughts were coming more often, and it took him longer and longer to recover.

MK turned once again at his side. Asriel looked over.

" _Huh... hero_ " he whispered. MK truly believed he was a hero, as did everyone else, and if someone as innocent as him could see something good within Asriel... then perhaps there was? sans had told that a lot of peoples hopes were riding on him, the prince, and sans didn't seem like the sort to lie.

Perhaps he did give himself to little credit.

He reached out and gently caressed MK's head with his paw, feeling the small knobs of protruding horns and scales.

Whatever happened, he would protect MK. He knew he could do it. He would gladly throw himself in front of a bullet to save him.

…

But if he didn't...

If he couldn't...

Then that would be the final nail in Asriel Dreemurrs coffin. A coffin whose lid closed long ago.

He had already decided. If something were to happen to MK. If he were to fail in his duties as a prince, a friend and a hero despite being the most powerful monster in existence, he would walk alone into the most desolate piece of land he could find, he would tears Frisk's SOUL from his own, setting them free from their self-imposed prison.

And then he would end it. Without the power of Frisks SOUL, he didn't know what would happen. Would he simply die? Or would Flowey take over once again? It was risk to great to take, better that he died and his dust left to rot than that.

He shuddered, almost saddened by his own conviction. Deep inside, he felt a familiar glow blossom up. He put a paw to his chest, the warmth spreading trough his body feeling extremely comfortable.

Looks like someone didn't want to let go of him.

But he had already decided. The kindness of others could only convince one so far. His fate relied on his own actions; either he would fail and die, either by his own hands or others, or he would succeed and finally be able to find peace within himself.

Whatever happened, nothing would be the same.

* * *

2:55 PM

Asriel stiffled a yawn.

The half-promised threat had yet to materialize.

He felt tired. MK seemed extremely comfortable beneath the blankets, and it was all he could to not just throw them over himself and descend into sleep.

He had tried doing a few push-ups and the like to keep awake, but the floorboards creaked loudly under his weight. He had rummaged trough the food he had taken before he had left home. The cinnamon bunny had give him a short boost of energy, but left him with a crash that made him feel even more tired than before.

He conjured up a fireball in his hand and playfully tossed it between them, hoping the task would keep him awake, yet the stark contrast between the fireballs' light and the darkness of the room did nothing but strain his eyes even more.

He sighed deeply. He shouldn't have done that. His deflation somehow drained him of the last bit of will to stay awake.

Screw it, the rune would warn them if someone came trough the door and anyone coming trough the window would have to break it first, a noise he would be able to hear.

It was warm and comfortable beneath the white sheets. Even though he still wore his training robes, he felt good. He would probably wake up drenched in sweat in the morning, but that was a concern for later. For now, he just wanted to close his eyes, have a dreamless sleep and then tomorrow he would-

 _WOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!_

Asriel practically blasted off, as the noise of the rune trap going off startled him so much that he briefly lost control of his own magic. He landed softly on the now singed sheets and quickly reached down for his quarterstaff, finding it just where he left it.

He sprang to his feet. The room was still dark, but he could see a shadow outlined against the light of the hallway beyond the door.

He pointed his staff at the shadow.

" _Identify yourself!"_ He demanded.

" _A-a-as-asri-"_ came a stuttering, horrified voice. A voice he knew.

Oh no!

Asriel leapt at the shadow, it collapsed just as he did. Collapsed into a shaking, wide-eyed, almost shell-shocked looking Monster Kid. Asriel just barely managed to catch him in his arms.

" _I-i just wa-wa- want-ted a-a glass of w-w-water..."_

Asriel felt terrible. A cold breeze washed across him. He had only accounted for if someone would seek to get into the room, not out. And now, MK had paid the price for his idiocy. It wouldn't be permanent, he was just startled out of his wits, but Asriel still felt rotten. He had promised to protect him and now-

Wait a second...

A breeze?

Asriel looked up.

The window was open.

Had MK opened it? Before he had gone for the door?

He gently started putting MK down.

There! In the corner, at Mk's side of the bed. A figure, clad in clothes just a few nuances darker than the one filling the room.

Whoever it was must had realized Asriel had spotted them. Suddenly, they reached behind and threw something. Asriel only barely caught the glint of something metallic fly trough the room towards him.

Instinctively, he dropped to the floor, shielding MK's body with his own. He heard the *thunk* of something sharp imbedding itself in the wall behind him.

Quickly, he got to his feet and as lightly as he could, threw the still catatonic MK out of the room, into the hallway, he winced as he heard MKs head impact on the wooden floor harder than expected.

He threw his arms to the sides, sending out 2 powerful fireballs that illuminated the room. Finally, the assailant was made clear.

They wore a set of black tightly-fitted cloth robes, the only skin shown was at the head, a slit revealing a set cold, icy-blue eyes. Asriel remembered having seen something similar, during a sleepover (In reality, it was "Ambush Training 101") at Alphys and Undyne's house, where they had seen a few of the newer animes.

A ninja!

The ninja unsheathed a short katana from a scabbard on their back. Holding it stiffly in front of them, the tip pointed at Asriels heart.

Asriels spread his feet, and gripped his quarterstaff tighter. Undyne had taught him how to defend himself against several human martial arts, but ninjas? Armed with swords?

That was a new one.

Quick as lightning, the ninja reached behind once more, and threw a couple of small pellets. Asriel quickly drew one of his ears in front of his eyes, shielding them from the explosive light that filled the room. As he removed his ear, he found the room empty! Only the slightest flutter of clothes above him alarmed him of the ninjas presence. He looked up, it came down fast, sword poised to cleave Asriel in 2 from head to toe.

Asriel reached his quarterstaff up to block. It was a surprisingly easy to read and easy to counter attack. The katana would clash upon his quarterstaff where the ninja would undoubtedly expect to meet a hard block. But instead, Asriel would let himself give way, unbalancing the ninja as their sword didn't find the support they expected. He would take a step back, just to ensure he was out of reach.

The thought was carried into action. The ninja's blade cut down hard on his staff. He allowed the force and momentum of the strike to carry it down. It worked! The Ninjas sword traced towards the ground, there he would be able to kick it away, or perhaps-

The ninjas sword didn't follow all the way trough.

It stopped, disengaging from his quarterstaff right as it aimed a few mere centimeters from his heart.

Without thinking, Asriel threw his right shoulder back and around with a surprised bleat, hoping to spin away from the incoming stab. He simultaneously tried to bat the katana away with his other hand, hoping to hit the flat, non-lethal side of the sword.

It only partially worked. The ninja lifted the sword slightly as it stabbed. Asriel felt his hand being painfully cut open as it collided with the sword, in his attempt to ush it away. The stab itself was carried trough, cutting a deep gash across his chest as well, he didn't manage to dodge away completely.

He jumped back, clearing a space between the 2 combatants. He grimaced as felt his 2 dust-leaking cuts throb with pain. An opening attack and already his opponent had drawn dust, Undyne would have had his head if she ever heard about this. He was wounded, badly.

But he wasn't dead. Whoever this ninja was, they didn't attack with hate. Perhaps another paid, professional killer?

The killer in question slowly inched closer, katana held at the ready. Asriel looked around, he still had the strength to fight, but another mistake like that and he would be dead. He could just unleash a barrage of magical hellfire... but no, that might kill them.

He just needed to goad them into making a mistake, a move he could predict. Yet, the only part of their body he could read was their eyes.

It would have to be enough. Perhaps it was time to play a bit with fire.

He reached a paw out to the side and materialized a fireball. He gestured as if he meant to throw it. Asriel smiled weakly as he detected the look of alarm in the ninjas eyes. Here was a threat they couldn't just ignore, they would have to move fast.

And they did.

The ninja dashed forward, cutting towards his chest in a strike aiming to bisect him.

He ducked low, feeling the blade barely graze the top of one of his horns. As it did, he reached up with his arm, wrapped it around the ninjas chest, turned on his hips to gain momentum, and then forcefully threw it over his shoulder, onto the huge wardrobe where it impacted hard.

Harder than he had intended. He growled as he realized Flowey had once again made him use more force than intended.

Incredibly, the ninja managed to stagger to it's feet, albeit groggy and dizzy.

Asriel gripped his quarterstaff tightly, the fight wasn't over, but he had turned the tables. He would have to disarm them first and foremost, then somehow get them to talk. Perhaps if he offered to be their friend? Pardon from the king of monsters? Perhaps-

The wardrobe was tipping over! Asriel suddenly realized with fear. The ninja was completely oblivious to the wooden doom threatening to squish them into paste.

Asriel dropped his staff and leapt at the wardrobe. It had to be heavy, but perhaps he could hold it just long enough for the human to realize the danger and get out of the way.

Just as he got closer to the ninja, it looked up, fear in it's eyes as the boss monster came rushing at it. It quickly sidestepped and slashed out with an evasive strike.

Asriel closed his eyes. He had acted too brashly. Of course the ninja would react this way, of course they would think-

He could practically feel the steel of the katana slice against his ribs. Not deeply, but still a hit.

Asriel gasped and stumbled in pain, but quickly recovered. Just in time to catch the almost 500kg heavy wardrobe.

He dropped to a knee as the immense weight pressed him down. He grimaced in pain as the effort of holding it up made his already considerable wounds throb even harder. Around his feet, a small ring of dust was already gathering.

He looked over his shoulder, finding only more death. The ninja still stood close, sword raised to cleave his head in twain.

For the briefest of moments, Asriel saw his second death reflected in the mirror sheen of the katana.

But his death never came.

The ninja, perhaps just now realizing Asriel had saved it, looked at the wardrobe curiously, then back on the floor, finding Asriels quarterstaff. The only weapon he had, his only means of attack and defense, discarded in order to save them.

The ninja backed away, then bowed deeply.

" _You are a true warrior. Your SOUL is worthy, and you are ready to see the old king. Seek out the former palace of your ancestors, you will find your destiny there"_

It spoke in a human accent Asriel couldn't recognize. He couldn't even tell if it was male or female. With that, the ninja lightly ran back to the window, picking up the 2 shuriken still sitting in the wall, before practically swan-diving out of the window.

Asriel would have used more time to ponder it all, if he wasn't on the verge of being crushed. Returning his focus to the task at hand, he refocused his effort into standing the wardrobe up. With a final grunt of effort, he managed to lift it back into place. He moves his paws across his body; he was bleeding from several cuts, more than he had figured he had, and he was drenched in sweat.

But, he was still alive, he had a lead and most importantly, MK was unharmed.

" _Woah dude"_ came MKs voice from the door.

" _I just had the scariest nightmare ever!"_

* * *

 _In the room across the hall, sans was easing down as well. He hadn't seen the spectacle between the prince and his assailant, but from what he had heard, aside from the skull-shattering trap-rune, he'd been "cutting it a bit close"_

 _And then there was that hint._

 _He reached down in his pocket and fished out a tourist brochure. Yup, the ruins of the old palace was still there, on the other side of the island._

 _He threw the brochure unto the nightstand, anticipation already starting to well up inside him. The prince would most likely be in for the fight of his life tomorrow, but at least he wouldn't have to do it alone._

 _MK would be there as well, and sans..._

 _well..._

 _He figured himself a pretty good spectator, at least._

* * *

 _ **Uh oh, wer're getting close to the end!**_


	17. Friends

**Hey there! Below, you will find my attempt at "the feels", something i haven't done much of (Which you can probably notice). In any case, we draw ever closer to the final showdown!**

* * *

 _Toriel and Asgore regarded the unfolding scene with concern. From what they gathered, situated inside a crumbling palace hall as they were,_ _it was morning, and the vile human had returned with several more in tow They had begun wheeling tables and strange technological equipment into the room. Asgore especially felt a cold chill run down his back. Much of the equipment resembled the same in Alphys's old lab, more specifically the type concerning research into the soul._

The vile human had told them of his plan, it was only natural that such equipment as this would be needed, yet seeing the instruments of their entire species demise in front of them brought great fear to the monster monarchs.

The human observed them with a mirthful glare, relishing the tension evident on their faces.

" _You'll be glad to hear your son has passed the final test. Very likely, he's already on his way to us as we speak. Soon, all of this will be over"_

The monster monarchs remained silent within their cage.

" _If it's any consolation, know that his sacrifice will bring about an era of such greatness and magnificence that its like will never be seen again. Your son might not be the future of monsters, but he is the future of humanity. Take pride in that, at least"_

The monster monarchs continued their one-sided conversation with the human. There was nothing to say, nothing to do. The fiend was dead-set on his mad plan of human ascendance, and nothing they could say would deter him, they realized that.

From a doorway in the side of the room, a table was rolled in with a loud *clonk*, as the servant pushing it accidentally hit a wall.

The vile human spun around, the mocking expression on his face completely replaced with fury.

" _INSOLENT FOOL! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHAT YOU'RE SO CARELESSLY TOSSING AROUND THERE!?"_ He roared as he stomped towards the terrified man.

The Dreemurrs watched the spectacle with interest. The table-pusher was on his knees, begging their raging kidnapper for his life. Despite herself, Toriel couldn't help but feel sympathy for him. She knew what the vile human was capable of, if the table-pusher was to suffer punishment, it would be a slow, painful and cruel one.

Her eyes slowly shifted to the table itself. It was a simple, stainless steel surgical table. A large piece of white cloth covered a strangely-shaped bulging object on top of it.

Toriels breath caught in her throat as she realized what it was, and why it was so important to the vile human. It was a harbinger, that which would bring about a twisted but golden age for mankind, and a cold ignominious twilight for monsterkind.

* * *

The morning chill of the streets felt comfortable, a pleasant alternative to the oppressive heat of mid-day.

And a start contrast to the uncomfortable and coldsilence between Asriel and Monster Kid.

After the ruckus of last night, Asriel had finally come clean. He had managed to hide his true reason for coming to the island so far, despite the many bumps along the road. MK had believed the man aboard the boat had been a simple monster-hater, likewise with the 2 assasins in the burning apartment.

But when he had re-entered their hotel room last night, after what was probably been the greatest shock of his life, finding Asriel covered in painful deep cuts, bruises and their room completely tossed, he had finally gotten the whole truth.

He hadn't said much since.

Asriel bore the reality of that with shame. He shuddered as he imagined how his parents would react when she found out about this, how disappointed they would be in him, how un-princely they would say he had acted. He knew he had been a cretin, a lying fiend that had dragged a happy, unknowing friend into certain danger, just because he had been a coward, a mere child too scared to be alone.

As they rounded the corner of a street leading down to the docks, Asriel risked a glance at MK. He didn't look angry or even disappointed, instead he looked as if deep in thought. A rare expression, Asriel realized.

Who knows, perhaps MK was reconsidering his habit of latching onto others for support? Perhaps he was using Asriels own poor example of being an idol as a reason to stand on his own, Asriel considered, trying to find a silver lining.

The cruise ship-like ferry towered into view in front of them. When Asriel had offered to take MK down to the ferry and home after explaining why he had come to the island, MK had simply shrugged.

And now here they were. The ship was in the midst of a disembark; smiling, happy monster families intended for closed-off luxury resorts and hotels strode down the gangplank.

Asriel wordlessly walked up to the ticket booth, buying a single passage off the island. He felt heavy in his chest, he had lost the one friendly face he knew on the island, but even worse, he had lost a friend. A loyal, innocent friend that had looked up to him as a hero.

"Some "hero" i am..." he thought.

He re-joined MK, sitting on a bench overlooking the morning dock-life. Asriel made a conscious effort to sit as far away from MK as possible, not wishing to cause any more harm or insult with his mere presence.

" _I just wish you would've told me sooner"_ MK suddenly spoke.

Asriel shuddered, feeling the hot ball of shame in his chest grow in intensity and size.

" _I know... I just- I didn't want to be alone any more... I'm sorry, MK_ _"_ He replied.

MK turned his head to look at Asriel.

" _You've been alone a lot, haven't you?"_ He asked, not sounding angry or mocking in the slightest.

Asriels breath caught in his throat at the question. He had been alone and he feared it, he feared going trough the same unfeeling loneliness he once had, he was terrified of the notion of not having someone he could fall back on, not someone that could catch him when he inevitably fell. It was the closest thing to a living nightmare he could imagine.

Going back to that life... if it coulde ven be called that.

And somehow MK knew that.

MK looked away when he didn't receive an answer.

" _I just wish you would've told me sooner... so I could have done more. I would still have gone with you"_

Asriel turned his head to look at MK, surprise slowly filling the hurtful void in his chest.

" _And I still do..."_ He drew in a deep breath.

" _I've been alone too, y'know. I've never really had a friend that didn't try to use me one way or another. People have called me a suck-up, a spineless worm, a bootlicker because I've always been so... I dunno, desperate to make a friend, always thinking that if I keep hanging around cool people then maybe, just maybe someone would notice me and... i dunno, like me?_ _All my life I've been terrified of the thought that I might end up alone and lonely"_

He glanced up at Asriel, eyes betraying hurt that by rights should have no business with one such as him.

 _"_ _I know I'm not as strong as you. I know I'm not as smart as you and, heh, I'm sure as heck not as cool as you, I mean, god, you're the Prince AND the hero of all monsters, while I'm just some tag-along... I just thought that maybe you'd be different..."_

 _"That's not true"_ Asriel said quietly, yearning to reach out to comfort MK, but daring not to.

" _MK... I didn't know that-"_

 _"_ _And you were"_ MK suddenly interjected.

 _"_ _I'll admit, back in the hotel room, when you told what you were really here for, I thought you were just another one of those lying fake friends... but you did it because you just wanted a friend, like me"_

Asriel was doing his not to break down, failing miserably.

 _"_ _And besides..."_ He said with a smile.

 _"_ _You took a freaking bullet for me"_

 _"_ _And you almost died trying to save me afterwards!"_ Asriel quickly added, in part to keep himself from breaking.

 _"_ _Well, that's what friends are for"_ MK finished, giving Asriel a playful headbutt

" _Look, I might not be the, uhh, "sharpest horn on the head" but I know loneliness when I see it, Azzy... and it looks to me like you've had your fair share"_

Asriels lips quivered and he felt tears coming. He reached out and pulled MK into a hug, he didn't resist.

It had been a long time since anyone had been so understanding of the things he had been trough; the pain of being alone, the pain of being unable to reach out and connect with others. Sure, his parents and Frisk would always be there for him, but their love was unconditional, he did not have to earn theirs. It was different with this.

 _"_ _We're in this together. We'll get 'em all back, y'hear?_ _"_ MK whispered at his shoulder.

Asriels response was a simple but heartfelt nod. It was a promise. They would either return with everyone alive or they wouldn't return at all.

" _I promise...heh, by the way, can I tell you something, MK?_ " Asriel whispered.

" _S-sure"_ He answered, voice already choked with tears.

" _I think you're way cooler than me_ _"_

" _Aww, shut up_ _"_

* * *

They remained on the docks for a good hour, watching the ship headed for Ebott slowly disappear on the horizon. Some of the dock workers, noticing the 2 monsters, risked a rude remark or gesture at them. But neither of them cared.

Asriel reached behind his cloak and retrieved a map and brochure he had taken from a stand back at the hotel, wincing slightly as his bandaged hand scuffed with the fabric. Surprisingly, the hotel bathroom had had a well-stocked med kit he had used after the fight. A good dose of healing magic had sealed and cleaned most of the wounds, but it would still be about a day before it was completely gone. For now, he had to deal with having his chest, sides and hand wrapped in gauze.

The brochure advertised a guided tourist trip to "The conquered palace of the heinous monsters", as well as a route leading to and from the place. Apparently, not all of the old palace had been torn down and recycled to build the human city here, a rather large portion of the main hall still remained.

Asriel thought back to the first time he had been on the island with his parents; a human guide, appointed by the local government, had sworn that not a single rock of the palace remained, and that they should not waste any effort searching for it, foolishly, they had believed him.

Asriels paw clenched around the brochure in anger, his claws tearing trough the paper. Those greedy little bastards had lied to him and his family in order to keep them away from their legacy, probably fearing that they would lay claim to it and take away the income from what they probably considered a mere tourist attraction.

That's how it always was with these greedy, cruel and evil humans! All they did was lie, cheat, kill and steal, if not monsters then each other. They didn't deserve ownership of the surface, they-

Asriel shook his head vigorously, nipping the invasive anger in the bud.

No. Even if some humans might do bad, no one intentionally choose to be evil. All you could do, when faced when faced with concentrated hatred, prejudice and ignorance, be it from monsters or humans, was to be the difference you wanted to set in others.

" _Be good"_ his mother often told him.

His mother...

He still had a task to do.

" _Yo, are you spacing out again?"_ MK asked worryingly, and kicked Asriel slightly on the shin.

" _Uh, yeah, I'm fine"_ Ariel quickly fired off, before rising from the bench, narrowly avoiding the incoming spittle from a passing dockworker. The old palace was on the other side of the island, almost impossible to avoid, the brochure claimed. The guided tourist tour had been closed due to the area having been loaned to a "Private Investor", but even if it was still open, he doubted they accepted monsters.

" _Ready to roll?"_ MK asked, likewise rising from the bench.

" _Yup, to the old monster palace we go"_

" _Nice, is it far?"_

" _Abut 70 km away"_

" _Not so nice"_

" _Trough humid, dense jungle"_

" _Even less nice"_

" _Probably packed with dangerous animals"_

" _Perhaps I should have gotten on the boat..."_

Asriel laughed, and lightly ruffled MK's head.

" _Don't sweat it, I'll get us there before sundown"_

" _Wha- how!?"_

" _I've been trough boot camp Undyne. This is nothing. Oh, by the way..."_ Asriel turned to face MK, and knelled down.

" _Your prince humbly asks for your permission to carry you"_

" _Dude, don't be like that"_

" _Haha, sorry, but unless you want to walk the whole way yourself-"_

" _Up I go!"_ MK shouted as he jumped unto Asriels shoulders with surprising agility

" _Comfortable up there?"_

" _As good as I'll ever be"_

Asriel turned to face the jungle. A wide mess of tress topped by a choking canopy of green lying at the end of the road leading from the docks. It would be a long jog, but this was what Undyne had trained him for the last few years.

Briskly, with MK mounted on his shoulders, he started towards the jungle.

" _Hold on everybody, we're_ _coming"_

* * *

sans cast a look around the room from his vantage point in what appeared to be a form of balcony. So this was the throne room of the old monster kingdom. The room was large and round with a huge domed ceiling, but almost entirely devoid of any of the old furniture or effects it might have once had, save 2 large thrones standing next to each other in one end of the room, and an old, cracked fountain embedded into a wall.

The whole place was in a sad state of disrepair. Cracks ran along the walls, dust hang heavy in the air, and several tiles of the marble floor were missing.

But despite that, the room was still very much inhabited.

sans leaned forward, getting a better look at the humans milling around down there. A large array of SOUL-focused scientific equipment had been set up in one corner, the humans carefully making sure none if it came to harm.

Close to the thrones, however, were the sole reason he was even here. 2 cages, one holding the 2 monster monarchs, and another, stacked far in a corner, containing a raging Undyne, furiously rattling the bars of the cage, a despondent Alphys sitting with her face buried in her lap, and Papyrus vigorously attempting to cheer her up.

sans tensed up a little. They were right there; his friends. He could easily reach out and carry the cages away with his telekinesis. He could get them to safety, he could get them out of there.

But he couldn't do that without being detected.

And if he was detected...

sans shifted his focus to that one human, the one now standing, arms crossed, overseeing the unpacking of the pseudo-laboratory.

Immediately, he felt fear creep up his spine. He figured himself a good judge of character, but he still didn't understand why this one human was so... terrifying. sans was no slouch in a fight, even a human would be no problem for his telekinesis, he could simply toss them around.

But for some reason, sans knew that if this one human were to discover him, he'd be dead where he stood.

" _whelp, glad i don't have fight him then"_ He leaned back in the folding chair he had brought along for the occasion. If he had heard correctly, Asriel was one on his way. He would rescue the trapped monsters, but to do that he would first have to go trough that strange human down there. It would be a heck of a fight, it would be as-real as it gets. sans chuckled inwardly, making a mental note to remember that for later.

He reached behind the chair, yup, the popcorn and extra-spicy chili ketchup was still there, ready for the big show.

Still, it might be a few hours before the young prince showed up. Just enough time for a little nap.

sans kicked his feet up onto the railing and folded his hands behind his head. Sure enough, the fate of humans and monsters would be decided in this very room in a few hours, but that didn't mean that one should just forget about the finer points of life, like a good rest! Besides, setting the folding chair up had left him bone-tired, and he would have to be in top shape if he was going to be able to spectate the final showdown properly.

* * *

 **A bit of a short one, I know, but we have to set the stage between Asriel, MK, sans and our mysterious antagonist properly!**


	18. The Ancient Enemy

**Asriel and MK finally meets the mysterious villain.**

* * *

Toriel felt a slight flutter in her heart, one she hadn't felt in quite a while. She had only realized it had been there at all once it had left, but now, suddenly, it was back. It meant that he was close.

She held a paw to her chest.

" _Asriel..."_ she whispered.

At her side Asgore was going trough the same motion. The magical bond that existed between monster families told them that Asriel was close. That soon they would get to see their beloved son again.

Perhaps for the last time, Toriel realized with a sinking feeling.

In the middle of the throne room, the vile human stood with arms spread wide, as his servants worked to clad him in an almost ridiculously ornamented suit of armor. Gauntlets with fingertips shaped like eagle claws were put on his hand. Golden pauldrons resembling snarling lion heads were fitted on his shoulders, and a large plate mail chiseled to look like dragon scales was clasped around his torso.

Once it was done, the vile human looked like a figure straight out of a fantasy movie; a knight clad in armor too large and iconographic to be of any real use to in a fight.

But this wasn't a regular human, Toriel thought; he was something more... or less, she added with sneer.

The human turned and walked to the throne, the sound of steel boots on marble echoing around the room

Whatever he was, this was the mountain Asriel would have to climb if this nightmare was to end, if he ever was to complete his crownquest.

Toriel sighed. The crownquest really had turned out a lot differently than what she had imagined, but if Asriel did succeed, there could be no doubt about his worthiness to the crown.

She smiled slightly at that. No True Dreemurr had ever failed their crownquest, and Asriel, her son, was nothing if not a True Dreemurr.

* * *

Asriel vaulted over a fallen tree as the air burned in his lungs, soon after followed by a grunt of frustration as he had to duck under under a low-hanging branch low enough that MK didn't get hurt either.

He had been running for almost 10 hours straight now, and he was slowly feeling the tiredness work their way into his limbs. Usually, he would have been able to do 115 km in just 6 hours easily, but the jungle was like an obstacle course that slowed and challenged him at every turn. MK sitting on his shoulders and the sweltering sun that bore down on him didn't help either, yet from the bright red light that shone trough the canopy of trees, he could tell that the sun was setting

Finally, trough the thick foliage, he spotted the color of faded purple. He brushed the leaves aside and came to a halt, almost shocked at it all.

Like a leviathan emerging for a fog bank, his goal emerged.

" _Wooooah..."_ MK whispered with amazement above him.

It was massive! The old, crumbling pillars and piles of stone around told him that other buildings had once stood in this area. Of those, only 1 remained; the old palace.

And what a palace it was! The purple color had faded in many places, and the stonework no longer bore an aura of magic, but there was no denying the majesty of it all. And yet, there was a lack of any kind of iconography or heraldry. Despite it's grand size, the old monster palace seemed almost... humble.

" _This is... just...incredible!"_ MK said, already beginning to bounce with excitement.

" _Yeah..."_ Asriel quietly agreed, as he reached up to put MK down. It was huge area, and more than likely there would be people waiting to stop him; he needed to regain his strength.

" _C'mon! We gotta go see it all! Last man to the throne room is Jerry's friend!"_ MK Shouted.

Asriel quickly raised a paw _"Can it wait for a bit? I need a breather"_

MK spun around with a look of surprised disappointment.

" _Wha- why?We just got here! We can-"_ He suddenly noticed the sweat dripping off Asriels brow, as well as his annoyed frown. The prince had his paws on his knees and were panting heavily.

" _Oh, right... yeah, we can take a small break, I guess"_

" _Thanks"_ Asriel answered with a sassy smile.

They sat down in the shadow beneath a large palm tree. Asriel retrieved some fruit he had taken from home before he left from his cloak. The enchantments on it ensured that any food stored wouldn't spoil. He offered to share with MK, but the yellow dinosaur refused, all hunger apparently forgotten in the face of the monumental discovery they had just made. Asriel was pretty excited as well, he figured, yet there was no doubt in his mind that before long, he would need all the energy he could muster. The strange ninja had told him that "the old king" would be waiting for him, but who could it be? The king before Asgore, his grandfather, was long dead and Los Suens didn't have a monarchy.

He shook his head clear of the thoughts. All that mattered was finding and freeing his parents and friends, and to do that, he needed to be ready.

He finished the fruits, the inherent magic in them quickly spreading energy trough his tired limbs. He reached behind his cloak, remembering one last thing he had saved for last. The last slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie his mom had made. He personally preferred snail pie, but Toriel usually made this one in Frisk honor, hoping that, with their soul living inside Asriel, they would still be able to taste it.

He bit into the slice. Whether it was the hunger, or the knowledge that this might be the last time he would ever taste it, he didn't know, but it was the best one he had ever tasted.

" _I've heard about those"_ MK suddenly said.

Asriel shook his head, snapping out of his daydreaming.

" _Uhh, what?"_

MK nodded at the slice of pie in his paw.

" _I heard that Toriel still made pie with surface ingredients, even before you shattered the barrier"_

" _Oh? I thought that was pretty normal"_

MK shook his head.

" _Nope. My mum always wondered where she got it from. Stuff like that can't grow underground"_

" _Well, Cinnamon comes from the genus Cinnamomum in the Lauraceae family... Uh, that's a family of trees, by the way"_

" _O...k, and do you think any on of those le-lau.. tree families grows in The Underground?"_

" _We got trees in Snowdin"_

" _Yeah, pine trees, ya doofus"_

Asriel cracked a wry smile. MK had actually snapped back at him. Playfully, and well-intentioned, but nevertheless, something he had never thought MK would do.

Perhaps he was growing up.

He returned to the pie. As he ate, he looked around the ruins and remnants of the palace, imagining how it must have looked in it's prime. The benevolent rule that had stemmed from there for as long as the Dreemurrs had been the royal family, and the tragedy that had befallen it. Hopefully, it would be the last.

Before he knew it, his 70 km run trough dense jungle, under a tyrannical sun was transformed from sore feet and sweat-stained fur, to a pleasant rush of energy coursing trough him.

He got up. Time for the final stretch of his crownquest.

* * *

A wide doorway lead them inside. Asriel stepped in first, with MK tailing close behind. Suddenly, he felt a flutter in his heart. He knew what it meant.

" _Mom... dad..."_ they were close.

They continued carefully. If they were close, then so were whoever had taken them.

As he trotted down the hallway, a strange sense of familiarity overcame him; almost as if he had been there before, or a place like it.

His suspicions were proven devastatingly true as they exited out of the hallway.

It was a small garden, with an old overgrown tree with red leaves growing off it's old, gnarled branches. At the other end stood a small house.

Home.

It was Home, and New Home as well.

The house was somewhat bigger than the one he had grown up in, in The Underground, but it was unmistakeably the same. The same quaint little family home one hardly would expect the king and queen of a large, prosperous kingdom to reside in.

Asriel looked back at the surrounding palace walls with a smile. Just like in The Underground, the house was built in the middle of a castle. Stout, strong walls protecting the homely, innocent heart within.

Asriel sighed happily. It didn't mean much, but the familiarity of the place brought him great comfort. It occurred to him that MK had probably never seen Home. He risked a look at his trailing companion, pleased to see that he too seemed taken in by the place, eyes wide with wonder.

Yeah, Home was great, Asriel thought

With a smile he entered the house.

The interior itself also proved to be exactly like Home Underground.

He stood in the entrance and looked around. The hallway to the right leading to the bedrooms, and the doorway to the left leading to the living room and kitchen, had both caved in, leaving only the stairs in front of him remaining. The stairs that would lead him to the Throne Room.

Asriel hesitated for a moment before going down. While he was emboldened by the familiar surroundings, this was also a place where great tragedy had once struck, and where it might strike again, if he was not careful.

He could almost imagine the sounds and sights this place had once witnessed on a daily basis. Monster citizens coming to seek guidance, advice and encouragement from his grandmother, the old queen. Human emissaries and diplomats seeking to conduct diplomacy and business with his grandfather, the old king, and all of them enjoying the full hospitality of the Dreemurrs and the old kingdom.

Asriel couldn't help but stop in complete wonder as he imagined it all. How he wished he had been there to see it. Perhaps, one day, this place would witness those same sights and sounds again.

But first, there was something he had to do.

His breath caught in his throat as he finally came to the end of the hallway. A gray brick wall with a set of closed double-doors stood before him. The Throne Room.

He could practically feel his parents SOULS call out to him from within, and his own call out for them.

This was it. The end was in sight.

He stopped in front of the great door, his heart racing in his chest. He knew they were in there, all of them. But they were not alone.

" _This is it, isn't it?"_ MK asked from behind him.

He breathed out _"Yeah, this is the old throne room"_ Asriel replied.

" _That's not what I meant..."_ Replied with a whisper a few seconds later.

Asriel heard him, but didn't respond. The goal and final test of his crownquest laid beyond the doors in front of him. A long time ago, his mother had attempted to bar Frisk access to a similar set of doors in Home. Now suddenly, here he stood.

He reached out and pushed the doors open.

They slowly creaked open, and the once majestic throne room of the old monster kingdom was revealed to him. Asriels eyes immediately darted, not noticing the throne from which his grandparents had once ruled, not noticing the human upon one of them, not noticing the lab equipment stored away at the other end. He only noticed one thing; the cages containing his parents and friends.

" _MOM! DAD!"_ He called out as he ran like a flash to them.

" _ASRIEL!"_ Toriel and Asgore called out for him as well. They reached out trough the cage bars to pull their soon into an embrace. The cage made it an awkward one, but nonetheless heartfelt and pure. Almost as an afternote, MK strode up behind him, kicking his feet a tad awkwardly at the whole situation, but nevertheless happy to see his friend and his parents reunited.

Still, what was the deal with the human on the throne? He wondered.

" _Asriel, my boy, I knew you'd come for us! We've missed you so much!"_ His mother said, almost whimpering.

" _My son, I'm so proud of you"_ Asgore said, trying to sound stoic and unaffected, but failing horribly.

" _Hah... hah..._ "Asriel laughed blissfully. It had been a long, dire journey, but this made it all worth it.

He pulled gently away from the hug and grasped at the cage bars.

" _Don't worry, I'll get you all out of there! I just need to-"_

" _I'm afraid I can't let you do that just yet, Dreemurr"_ A deep but amused voice suddenly called out.

Asriel spun around with an angry, wolf-like snarl. Within the blink of an eye, he retrieved his quarterstaff with trained expertise from behind his cloak and willed magic into it. The staff exploded into action, fire cascaded and electricity arced up and down, resembling an inflamed lightning bolt more than a wooden staff. Whoever would come between him and his parents in moment like this would feel the full wrath of the most powerful monster in existence!

He looked to where the voice had come from, his anger fading somewhat into curiosity as he did so. He had expected a human to be behind all of this, but not one that looked like he had just stepped out of some medieval fantasy movie, sitting as he was upon a throne.

" _My grandfathers throne"_ Asriel realized with an angered growl.

" _Good eyes, bro..."_ MK said with a slight mocking tone at his side.

Aside from the weird plate armor he wore, the human looked rather plain, with dark hair that reached down to his shoulders, and a neatly shaved beard.

But his eyes...

A mismatched pairing of dark-green, like moss, and brown, like Asriels own. In stark contrast to the human itself, they looked old, ancient almost.

But none of those details mattered. If he was the one who had kidnapped his friends and parents, he would soon be nothing more than a charred husk! Burnt, torn, rent, killed!

" _I have been been waiting for... quite a long time, Asriel"_ The human said, rising from the throne and descended down from the dais it was placed upon.

A stray bolt of flaming lightning shot out of Asriels staff, leaving a small crater in the marble floor near the human, who remained completely unfazed.

" _Now, now, no need for violence just yet. I'm sure we can settle this in a civilized manner. After all, we're both royalty, are we not?"_ The human said with a wry smile.

Asriel tightened his grip on the quarterstaff, behind him he heard MK steeping close, he reached an arm out to gently bar his way _"_ _Stay back, I'll handle this. Go see if you can't open the cages"_ He returned his gaze to the human _"_ _Who are you?"_ He growled.

The human stopped dead in his tracks, surprise on his face. _"_ _You... you don't know?"_ He asked, sounding genuinely amazed.

Before Asriel could answer, the human turned to the cage containing his parents.

" _Hah! Seriously? The most important event in monster history and you forgot to tell him that little detail?"_ The human asked mockingly, laughing as he did so _"_ _Or did you just omit that on purpose? So the little precious prince over there could sleep well at night? Unafraid of the big bad human stomping on his peoples graves?"_

Asgore met the humans stare with a fierce gaze of his own, before looking over at Asriel apologetically.

The human also turned to Asriel, shaking his head _"_ _Well, guess I'll have to make the introductions then"_

Despite the huge armor he wore, the human managed an incredibly graceful bow, his head almost low enough to touch the ground.

" _Greetings Asriel Dreemurr, Prince of All Monsters. My name is..._

 _ **VALANTIS, KING OF ALL HUMANS..."**_

Asriel could only stare in disbelief as the armored human revealed his identity. It had to be a lie, no human could possibly live that long!

" _Or, well, "former king" I suppose"_ The human added, scratching the back of his neck.

" _That's...impossible"_ Asriel said under his breath.

" _Under normal circumstances, you'd be right. Though, as you've probably already figured out, this isn't quite normal. I'm a few hundred years old yet I don't look a day over 33, wouldn't you say?"_ The human asked, smirking.

Asriels only response was lightly shifting his feet as he attempted for better footing.

" _But, admittedly, I have your grandfather to thank for my, heh, miracle cure. Oh! By the way, would you like to say hello?"_

Asriels ears twitched and his brow furrowed with curiosity.

In front of him, the old human king cupped his hands to his chest, and withdrew a shining heart. A SOUL.

But it was a kind of SOUL Asriel never imagined he would ever lay eyes on.

It was like his own, but inverted. Whereas Asriels was a white one surrounded by red, this one was a dark-green human soul encased in white.

And the monster soul...

His grandfather...

He could hear it call out for him, recognizing him. It was a voice he had never heard before, yet he knew in his heart who it was.

He reached a paw out to the undulating heart, trying to hear what it wanted to say, wanting to feel what it wanted him to feel.

Suddenly, the old human king pressed the soul hybrid back into his chest, silencing the call Asriel could hear.

Immediately, his hand flew back on the quarterstaff and it again exploded into magical action.

" _LET. HIM. GO!"_ Asriel demanded angrily, eyes ablaze with multicolored fire.

" _But, Asriel, that would ruin everything I've worked to achieve!"_ The human said sarcastically. _"And it would be rude to just discard a "gift", don't you think?"_ he added.

" _What do you mean?"_ Asriel asked trough gritted teeth.

The human sighed.

" _Well... you have come this far, I suppose it's only fair you get the whole picture"_

He drew a deep breath.

* * *

" _You see, I have always been the envious sort. Long ago, I was the ruler of a small, but wealthy and powerful nation. My people wanted for nothing, and for many years we had peace, and yet I felt like I could do more._

 _Monsters. The greatest mystery in all the realms, and, more interestingly, the sole people capable of the greatest act, the only ones blessed with the most reality defying gift imaginable... Magic_

 _I envied you that. I thought it unjust that such a thing was forever denied my people and, well, humanity in general. And so, I sought to rectify that injustice._

 _I wanted to know what made you monsters what you were, what made you think, what made you.. "magical" I slaved my scholars, I had them bent over ancient tomes, scrolls and books for hours on end, desperate to learn your secret._

 _And I did._

 _Your souls. It was obvious! What else could grant someone such power? I figured, if I were but to absorb a monster soul for my own, I would be granted the same gifts as you! But, as you probably know yourself, it is not that easy._

 _I needed a boss monster soul, a rarity, the only kind strong enough to survive without a host body for more than a second, something only the royal family possessed._

 _So, I had to go trough one of you to reach my goal._

 _Now, the royal monster family wasn't exactly feared, loved or respected, in fact most saw you and your kingdom as a curiosity, to be gawked at with amusement and then..._

… _discarded._

 _Nevertheless, waging war on you alone would be folly. I had no illusions that I could not defeat you, but it would leave my own lands vulnerable._

 _My northern and southerly neighbors were perfect for the task. They were like rabid dogs, always spoiling for a fight. All I needed to do was but to merely...orchestrate an accident to befall their queens and point a finger in your direction._

 _They didn't question, of course. All they had was a bloodlust and a need for a revenge. It worked better than I could have hoped. Even better, the monster king turned out to be a pacifist to the core, not even bothering to fight back, always ordering his vaunted Royal Guard to fall back. The soldiers even loved and respected their king so much they obeyed, even as they were cut down in droves._

 _Before long, our combined armies had driven you all back to this place. Your old palace. That was when I made my move._

 _I made a deal with your grandfather. In return for his soul, I would grant the remaining monster survivors free passage across the seas, where you could be herded into what you would come to know as The Underground. I was even so kind as to place barrier there, for your own protection, of course._

 _In the end, my gambit had worked... partly. I now had magic, but no way to share my gift to the rest of humankind._

 _But eventually, I found a way. I need a specific soul. A soul unlike any this word has ever seen!_

 _One such as yours..."_ The Old King finished

* * *

Asriels mind reeled from the implications. He could almost hear the gears grinding his head as he tried to comprehend what the human had just told him. Behind him, MK was frantically attempting to pick his jaw up off the floor.

" _You... the war... you started it"_ Asriel muttered.

" _I did_ " the human answered with an affirmative nod.

" _You killed... thousands of monsters... thousands of innocent people..."_ Asriel said, voice almost shaky with disbelief.

" _I did"_ the human king repeated, a little bit more hesitantly this time.

" _Just because you... you... YOU WANTED TO BE ABLE TO DO MAGIC!?"_ Asriel finished with a scream of outrage, loud enough to make dust come off the walls.

The human quickly jabbed an accusing finger at Asriel.

" _And I would do it all over again if need be! You monsters have always taken your magic for granted, wasted it's potential! Why merely resign yourself to healing and small petty comforts when you can use such a gift for greatness!"_

He slapped the pointing hand to his chest.

" _Magic has always been wasted on your kind. Take me, for example. Only a few short years after the war, I had conquered all the known realms! A lone human, made king of all humans with the simple help of magic!"_ Valantis finished with an almost crazed look in his eyes.

" _You're insane..."_ Asriel growled quietly

Valantis merely laughed.

" _Because of your grandfathers soul_ _"_ _He_ continued _"_ _I gained the ability to use magic, just like I've always wanted! And like you, I don't even age!"_ He gibbered with almost childlike glee.

" _But, as I said,_ _I figured I could do better. I figured I could spread my blessing to all humans! For centuries, I sought for a way to do just that. Unfortunately, I found that there was no way to do that without more boss monster souls, and there were simply far to few of those to go around_ _"_

The human walked over to the lab, gesturing to the various instruments as he did.

" _So, I have no other choice than to start over._ _If I were to combine a monster/human and human/monster soul, I would be able to create... well, the ultimate being I suppose. A race with the physical strength and power of a human, combined with the magical potency of monsters"_

He stopped in front of a surgical table with an odd shape covered by white cloth on top of it.

" _And this... will be the start of it all. The one that will grow to be the progenitor of the new era!"_

The human pulled the cloth away, revealing a human child.

But not just any human child. Asriel immediately recognized the purple-stripe sweater, the brown shoulder-length hair.

It was Frisk.

Asriel audibly gasped at the revelation. Within him, he could feel Frisks soul recoil in disgust.

" _A friend of yours?"_ The human king asked mockingly.

" _Don't worry, this is not that dear departed savior of yours. I crafted this body, this vessel with my own magic. But I still felt like the mother of the next step in human evolution should bear the face of the one that made it all possible! The one that made you! The one whose soul even now resides within you!_ _"_

Asriel felt sick to his core. In truth, he had never known Frisks gender and he doubted Valantis did either, but from what he was saying, it was clear that the Frisk on the table was female.

" _You have the last piece I require, Prince Asriel. I have tested you, and I can say, without a shadow of doubt, that you will do perfectly"_

Asriel shifted uncomfortably on his feet. _"_ _You have... tested me?"_

" _Of course! If your soul_ _is to be the base from which my new race will be born from, I need to ensure it is a worthy_ _one"_

The human raised a hand, counting his fingers as he went trough every test Asriel had been trough.

" _The boat, where you were asked to relinquish the crown in exchange for your parents. You could have chosen the easy path. You could have thrown your entire legacy away and this whole ordeal would have ended before it truly began. And you knew that!_

 _And yet, you choose not to. You remained steadfast and determined to go on, without compromising who are. Brave_ _of you, really"_

" _Next, the 2 assassins out for your head. I admit that one didn't go exactly as planned, but you still gave me a more than satisfactory example_ _into your character. I had tasked the 2 most talented killers I could find to bring me your soul. You met them in combat, and you defeated them easily. What's more, you showed me that you were willing to sacrifice your own life to save your friend from getting shot. Again, a laudable act. One which I doubt very few would have the courage to do so"_

" _Next, I tested how you would act when faced with the same killers as before. But now they were weak, while you were still strong and they had information you needed. How would you act when faced with this dilemma and they refused to talk? Would you show restraint? Would you merely give up any hope of getting an answer?_ _Honestly, I would have been satisfied if you had resorted to violence; if you had beaten them to a pulp in search for information which they, by the way, did not poses. But no, instead, you appealed to them, to their own sense of camaraderie they_ _held for one another. And while you would never be able to get the answers you were looking for, you still got them to open up to you"_

Asriel felt cold sweat at that one. He had been ready to unleash hell on those humans, to burn them until they talked. Yet now, he felt intense relief that he had not. Lee would never have been able to tell him where his parents were, because he simply didn't know.

" _By then, I was already more than satisfied, but_ _as a kind of bonus round, I wanted to_ _see how_ _you would react when faced with the death of another. I sent my most veteran and loyal soldier after you. I asked him to deliberately put himself in a situation where he would surely die. Heh, imagine my surprise when he returned. Do you know what he told me?_

 _He told me that despite being heavily wounded, you risked your own life to save him from a death-trap of a wardrobe, of all things. That despite looking death in the eye, you held it up, all concern for yourself forgotten in order to save someone who was in the midst of trying to kill you. I can understand doing that for a close friend, but for an enemy? You sure are full of surprises"_

Asriel gave him a curios look _"_ _One of your men... would do that for you?"_

The human king shrugged _"_ _Well, a little bit of my own brand of mind-control magic helped quite a bit, but yes, he would lay down his life if I asked him. A real trooper, that one"_

He spread his arms wide.

" _I am impressed, Prince Asriel, there's no way around that. I can think of no other person, human or monster, more worthy to bear the new era!"_

Asriel spread his feet into a combat stance, while the intensity of the fire and lightning on his staff increased.

" _Easy now, I had planned to just kill you and take your soul, but seeing what kind of person you are... I can't help but feel that killing you_ _would be a waste. So I'll give you a choice"_

Asriel furrowed his brow, but didn't say anything.

" _Option A: You simply give me your soul. In return, I'll let you, your parents and your friends go. You'll probably get to enjoy a few decades of relative peace before my new race will seek you out and destroy you. Heh, if you_ _would be able to enjoy anything at that point, I guess"_

As if suddenly remembering something important, the human began again _"_ _Oh right! I almost forgot. I have instilled an urgent desire for all monsters destruction into, uhh, Frisk here. Once she has grown, she will stop at nothing until_ _every trace of your people is dead and gone. It's just a precaution really; I know that no human will be able to stop her, but monsters? I don't know, better that_ _you all die than risk that"_

Asriel felt his anger rise once again upon hearing this "tiny" little detail revealed to him. Frisk had been a pacifist to the core, and that this human would pervert and corrupt that made him feel sick.

But also the choice.

" _What's my other option then?"_ Asriel asked.

The human blinked a few times at this _"_ _Heh...Why would you want to know that? I offer you your friends, family and years of, well, one-sided love in return for your soul. Sure, you might not be able to feel love or anything like that again, but everyone else will be safe... And isn't that whats most important to you?"_

Asriel clasped a hand to his chest. Returning to his emotionless torment in exchange for borrowed time with everyone else? Time in which he would have to fake every laugh, smile and hug? Where he would be unable to appreciate the warmth and love of his parents and friends?

But even more abhorrent to him was the thought of betraying Frisk; to hand over the soul of the one who had saved him in return for petty comfort? To a man that would use it for evil?

Never. Not as long as he still drew breath.

" _Option B"_ The human suddenly began, interrupting his train of thought _"_ _We fight, I kill you, and in order to spare your parents the pain of going on without their son, I'll kill them afterwards as an act of mercy. See, I can show mercy as well!_ _"_ _He said, with a mocking smile_ _"_ _and just to be sure the others won't cause any problems, I'll kill them too_ _"_ He finished, jerking a thumb to the cage with Undyne, Alphys and Papyrus.

Asriel bristled at such a blatant threat on the lives of those he held dear, yet he remained calm enough to appreciate what the human was telling him.

Even as he pondered it, a realization occurred to him.

" _If you were to succeed... you would have to sacrifice your own soul, wouldn't you?"_

The king nodded solemnly.

" _True. I would have to give up my own soul to make the fusion. I would_ _be unable to... fully experience the new era. But it's time I shared my gifts with everyone else. I have lived long enough... and so have you"_

Asriel was the most powerful monster in existence. Were he to unleash his full power, there would be no human able to stand against him for more than a second. He knew this, and so did the human king standing in front of him.

Yet despite knowing how powerful Asriel was, he still stood there, unarmed, fully convinced he could easily defeat him.

Something about that made Asriel extremely uneasy.

Nevertheless, his answer was clear.

It was to tighten his grip on the still-flaming quarterstaff, and spread his feet out in a battle stance.

" _Prepare yourself, Valantis!"_ he snarled.

Across from him, the human clapped his hands in excitement and laughed.

" _Hah! I knew that would be your answer! You aren't the type to just give up, and it's been so long since I've last had a good fight... Still, a shame that you would choose death so easily. You can still live a wonderful and interesting life without love, you know._ _"_

" _Without love, there's no point to life!"_

" _Sure there is. You're just too naive to realize that_ _"_ The king finished.

As he did, he opened his right hand. With a blinding flash of dark-green, a large sword materialized in it, the pommel shaped like a snake that vomited forth the shining steel blade.

" _Power, is a very good reason, if you ask me"_

Asriel couldn't help but tremble. The human king looked completely at ease, a confidence so supreme it threatened to shatter Asriels own.

" _YOU... ARE NOT GETTING FRISKS SOUL!"_ He shouted and stomped the ground, shattering a marble tile, mostly to encourage himself.

" _Prepare to die again, Prince Asriel"_ The human king calmly answered.

" _I have faced death before!"_

" _You have... and you lost"_

And thus, in the halls of the old monster kingdom, under the gaze of worried parents and breath-taken monsters, the 2 most powerful creatures on earth fought. A battle that would determine the future of humans and monsters alike. A battle that could only end either in dust or in blood.

They were both filled with DETERMINATION.

* * *

 **Woah nelly, things are really heating up! The final showdown has begun!**

 **I'm honestly not super happy about how i explained the old kings plan - feels like one giant plot dump, but I couldn't think of any other way that wouldn't make it even weirder :P**


	19. Kings and Gods Part 1

**It's the end**

* * *

" _COME ON! HURRY! GET TO THE BOATS!"_ Asgore shouted at the terrified, streaming line of monster refugees. The palace had been breached, and the humans were even now storming the walls. The happy, if somewhat sheltered life Asgore had lived was literally coming down around his ears. It was madness, Asgore thought. He knew his parents, the king and queen abhorred violence in any form, but that they would order The Royal Guard to stand down even now seemed ludicrous, stupid almost. Even they had to realize that their principle of non-violence was costing them much more than it would ever gain them!

He looked up at the tunnel entrance; still no sign of them.

He reached out and grabbed the arm of a passing monster. _"_ _Have you seen the king and queen?"_ he asked with urgency. The monster's reply was a vigorous shake of the head, obviously eager to be let go, so it could escape to the waiting boats down the tunnel.

Asgore grunted in frustration but nevertheless released the refugee. His father had asked him to lead the survivors down a secret passage leading to a small fleet of boats, from there, they would sail to a distant mountain where his father had promised they would find safety. His parents would follow shortly after, they had promised, but first they had to "take care of an important matter"

Once Asgore had completed his task, then he would have proven worthy of being king of all monsters, his parents had said. Asgore knew the tradition, of course; The Crownquest, but right now he couldn't care less about some weird old custom of old. Even if he did succeed, all that would be left to rule were the sad remnants of a once proud people, and a cave hundreds of kilometers away. He wanted to fight! The humans were desecrating the once proud ancestral home of the Dreemurrs and their seat of rule! They had to pay for this!

Asgore didn't figure himself as a violent individual, but some insults were simply too severe to answer peacefully.

The line of fleeing monsters were thinning, but he still hadn't caught sight of his parents. If he listened closely, he could just barely hear the shouts and yells of humans from the tunnel entrance.

He couldn't wait any longer.

He stormed up the stairs, running past the last few stragglers.

" _Don't leave us, Prince Asgore!"_

" _Where are you going!? The humans will kill you!"_

" _Don't go! Who will protect us!?"_

He heard their calls and shouts, gritting his teeth as he tried to ignore them. He wasn't going to abandon them, he just had to ensure his mother and father weren't in trouble, then he would return.

He stormed down the halls and corridors of his former home. Explosions just outside the walls shook the floor, kicking up great clouds of dust, but he pushed on. He heard talking coming the doors leading to the Throne Room.

He slowed down as he reached the ornamented double doors and gently reached for the handle, as if fearful he might interrupt something important. He stopped as he finally managed to pick out a few words.

" _And you promise... that my people will not be hunted?"_ Came the saddened, but nonetheless proud voice of his father.

" _I will order my fleet to hold fire; they should find safe passage across the seas. As to how they will fare once they reach the shore, well, that depends on your son, I suppose"_ As gravely voice returned. One Asgore recognized.

The voice of Valantis! One of the humans kings responsible for the massacre!

Asgore kicked the door open, violently withdrawing is trident from beneath his cloak as he did.

What was revealed to him when he did so, was a sight he would never forget for as long as he lived.

He saw his mother, standing tall and proud as she always did with tears running down her stern face. She gracefully looked over to him, smiling, as she wordlessly mouthed an apology

He saw a human with a triumphant look on his face, Valantis! The enemy!

But the most shocking image of all, was the sight of his father, holding his glowing boss monster SOUL, and offering it to the human. He had shook when Asgore had kicked the door open, evidently aware of who it was, but he didn't turn to look.

He held his soul for a few seconds.

Then, abruptly and unceremoniously, the human snatched the soul out of his fathers paws, and pulled it into his chest. His mother finally broke form as well, as her hands flew to her muzzle, trying to hold back tearful sobs.

Asgore himself was stunned. He took a step forward, eyes wide with disbelief as he reached out for his father. He tried to say something, but no words could do justice to the horror and monstrosity he had just witnessed. The soul was the culmination of one's entire being, to give it up would be like rejecting everything you were and stood for, leaving one an empty shell. It was a fate worse than death!

So why in the world would he do this?

The human looked over at Asgore with a grin, having apparently noticed him. His father followed his gaze and likewise turned to him.

" _Howdy... son"_ He said with a painfully obvious fake smile.

Asgore continued to stare dumbfounded.

" _I... really didn't want you to see that... for obvious reasons"_ He continued.

" _Dad... why..."_ Asgore tried.

" _For the safety and survival of our people, Asgore. I hope one day you will understand"_

Asgore felt pain just looking as his father. The warmth in his eyes were gone, his once deep-black fur seemed somehow grayer, and although he tried to sound friendly, his tone of voice was great deal more apathic than usual.

" _Now please, just go, my son. Lead our people to safety. You are the future of all monsters"_

Asgore could only continue to stare and blink. None of this made any sense!

His father gave him one last nod before turning back.

" _Are you ready?"_ The human asked.

" _Just get it over with"_ answered his father, sounding more tired than Asgore had ever heard him be.

His mother walked over and wrapped her arms around her husband, whispering something into his ear. His fathers response was to limply wrap one of his around her.

And then, in one fell swoop, yet Asgore could have sworn the moment was dragged out for minutes, the human unsheathed a sword and decapitated them both, their bodies turning to dust before they even hit the floor.

Asgore fell to his knees, his body feeling completely numb. He tried to shout a refusal, but all that came out was a choked, wet gasp. This couldn't be happening. They couldn't be gone. This didn't make any sense! The king and queen of monsters, his parents, the 2 stoic pillars upon which the past hundreds of years of prosperity for their kind had been built upon, and the bravest, most graceful people Asgore had ever known, brutally taken away with the merest flick of a steel sword.

Asgore couldn't feel anything, completely overwhelmed and unable to cope with the shock of it all. He was unable to feel sadness, grief or anger, his body simply couldn't contain the amount that was filling up inside him. Stunned as he was, he didn't even feel the human coming over, picking him up by the shoulders and carrying him back to the escape tunnel, not even able to muster up enough wit to lash out at themurderer of his parents. He didn't say a word or even cry as he wide-eyed and shellshocked-looking staggered down the tunnel, his only instinct being to act on his fathers last words.

" _Now please, just go, my son. Lead our people to safety. You are the future of all monsters"_

He didn't crack as he sailed across the rough seas, he didn't break as he marched with the remnants of those that would now call him king towards an uncertain future beneath a distant mountain.

Only when they had settled, when the danger had passed, when the thrice-damned human king had placed a great barrier, turning their Home into a prison did he allow himself to cry.

And despair he did.

* * *

" _This place has already seen a lot of Dreemurr deaths, Prince Asriel"_ The human said, pointing his sword at Asriel.

" _Soon, you will count amongst them"_

Asriel gritted his teeth, the skin on his muzzle peeling back in an angry, beastly snarl.

" _You know, I offered to have your parents cage taken away, so that they wouldn't have to watch all of this. They refused."_ the human continued with a grin, and ran a finger along the blade.

" _How does that make you feel? To know that they will get to watch you die all over again? To know that you will cause them such excruciating pain again?"_

Asriel growled. He had promised himself and Frisk long ago, that he would never use his powers with evil or murderous intent, but right now, he was finding it extremely difficult to not just cut loose and kill this human where he stood.

Everyone knew that a monster with a human soul would be granted great power, and Asriel was living proof of that; but what about a human with a boss monster soul? This human quite clearly had magic, but aside from that, Asriel had no idea what he could do, and that in itself made him dangerous.

The king and the prince held each others stares for a few seconds, seizing each other up, daring the other to make the first move, to start the inevitable, final confrontation.

 **VALANTIS, FORMER KING OF ALL HUMANS**

 **ATK: 10000 DEF: 10000**

 **We're in this together, to the end!**

 _Woah, those stats... are a lot higher than yours, aren't they? Run, you fool!_

Then, after what seemed like minutes, the human started to walk. He moved with such confidence it was almost as if he wasn't walking at all, but rather the earth moved beneath his feet.

Asriel let out a pent-up breath. This was it. The final act. Should he fail here, everyone he knew and loved would die, and the rest of his people would follow shortly after. Should he die, then Frisks soul would be taken, perverted and corrupted, used as mere fuel to create an abomination. He felt strong, as prepared as he would ever be, which felt like not at all.

But for the sake of human and monsters alike, he had to defeat Valantis.

The human in question suddenly stopped up, bent down on his knees and leaned forward.

Asriel only managed to raise a questioning eyebrow, before the human king suddenly, like a TV losing its signal, flickered out of existence and vanished.

Asriel blinked in surprise, fear creeping up from below. He couldn't see him! Was this some kind of magic trick? Invisibility?

He took calming breath; Undyne had once taught him how to track monsters based on their residual magical energy they gave of. This human wasn't one, but he should still be able to sense him. He sniffed at the air, furrowing his brow in frustration as he realized his caged friends and family provided interference, clouding his senses. He just had to tune them out, look for a unique one, one he had never-

He stopped, there was something. Something...

… Directly behind him.

Without thinking, Asriel tilted his body to the side. Valantis's sword pierced the air his head had been from behind a mere fraction of a second later.

The king rotated his hand, turning the sharpened edge of the sword towards Asriel, poised to lop his head clean off.

Still unbalanced from his sudden, rushed dodge, Asriel barely managed to duck under the incoming blade. He grimaced in pain as he felt it cut the top of one of his horns off.

He sensed the human switch his position slightly. Still crouched, Asriel held his quarterstaff between himself and the human in defense, just barely managing to block a thundering kick delivered by a steel clad foot. The staff managed to absorb most of the shock, but Asriel was nevertheless knocked off his feet. He flew a good 4 meters and landed painfully on his back, the impact causing the back of his head to smash into the floor, exploding stars and flashing colors into his eyes.

He grunted as he tried sitting up, his vision was blurry and swimming but he was dimly aware of the human moving in front of him.

Valantis sighed with slight annoyance _"_ _Still alive? You're making this far more difficult than_ _it needs to be, Prince Asriel..."_

He stopped up and flashed Asriel a wolfish grin, non-chalantly altering his grip on his sword as he did so.

 _"_ _Did I ever tell you how I lost my title as king of all humans? How one such as me could possibly fall from such grace?"_ He asked, sounding as if he was holding a formal conversation.

The human readied his sword in a golf-like swing, gave a sly grin, and struck the ground. Instantly, like a great aquatic leviathan breaking surface, what looked like an explosive geyser of razor-sharp ice and frosted stone erupted out of the ground, and sped towards Asriel.

" _I wasn't removed from power, of course, no mere human could ever hope to topple me. And yet, they did in a way"_

Asriel gulped. He was still too dizzy to stand up, but perhaps there was something else he could do. He laid back down on his back, curled his knees to his chest and placed his hands on the ground on both sides of his head.

Just at the explosive, icy force was about to reach him and tear him apart, he kicked upwards, simultaneously blasting the ground with a powerful fire blast. In doing so, he performed a kip-up that sent himself flying over Valantis's attack, and it gliding harmlessly under him, with only a few slivers or razor-ice cutting holes into his cape. The force of Asriels spell sent him a few meters into the air.

Asriel straightened out in the air. Below him, he could already see Valantis moving into position to strike him as he landed. But in doing so, he made himself open.

" _You see, humans are a spirited lot, and you can't make one group happy without upsetting another. After a few years I grew tired of constantly having to watch my back for an assasins blade"_

Asriel readied his quarterstaff in a javelin-like toss, doing his best to remember Undynes lessons on the finer points of spear handling. Aiming as well as he could, and still airborne, he threw the staff towards the human on the ground. As expected, he moved his sword to block the incoming projectile.

With a slight smile of triumph, Asriel snapped his fingers.

And the staff exploded into a great plume of smoke, obscuring almost half of the throne room. Somewhere within the swirling smoky chaos, Asriel could hear the old human king shout in surprise, followed by coughing.

Asriel landed on his feet with a grunt. Without looking, he reached a hand into the smoke, feeling his fingers curl around the quarterstaff where it hung magically in the air, exactly where he expected it to be.

He stood up, blinking his eyes as the last vestiges of dizziness faded from his mind. He reached out with his quarterstaff, and like a vacuum, the staff sucked the smoke into itself. In the blink of an eye, the great cloud was gone, revealing the growling human.

Asriel let out a pent-up breath. In truth, he could have had his staff explode with heat of a blazing star instead of just smoke, but that might have killed the human. And no one, not even the tormentor and jailor of his people was going to die here. It was what Frisk would have wanted.

At least the smoke had saved him from getting disemboweled as he landed.

" _Nice trick"_ _Valantis_ said with disdain.

" _But you'll need more than mere theatrics to defeat me!"_ He swung his sword in a horizontal slash. From the arc, a cluster of razor sharp ice spikes emerged, and flew at Asriel, seeking to impale him.

" _I was constantly the victim of assassination and coup attempts, and no matter how brutally, how publicly I executed those that dared defy me, they never stopped. Mere mortals against me; a god!"_

In response, Asriel merely raised his hand, causing a great wall of flame to sprout out of the ground in front of him. The heat hot enough that it melted the ice spikes as they came close.

" _I was not angered by this. I fact, I grew impressed by the common folks stubborn determination. They risked life and limb to end my rule, and they were constantly rewarded with failure and death. And yet they kept coming_ _"_

The human swung his sword once again, this time with the flat end, fanning a great gust of wind towards the fire wall. Like a tide, the wind pushed the flames back, almost drowning Asriel in his own fire. He reached out with an open palm; immediately, the flames funneled into his hand instead of washing over his body, disappearing. Asriel winced slightly as he felt the incredible heat run up his arm. It was his own magic, but also a reminder of how powerful that magic was.

" _I thought "If all these people had my powers, they would be a force beyond reckoning! Such Determination deserves to be rewarded_ _"_ _Thus, I simply vanished from the world, escaped into the darkest corners of the earth to continue my research_ _"_ Valantis continued as he lunged forward with his greatsword. As he did, magical ice formed on it, sharp and with jagged edges. Asriel only barely managed to deflect the sword to the side, before the human launched into another attack, then another, then another...

He was simply too fast to allow for any kind of counter-attack, Asriel realized with a sinking feeling.

" _Do you understand yet, Prince Dreemurr? I have waited for far too long and given up far too much to let a mere child like you stop me! I am Valantis! Vanquisher of Monsters, Conquerer of all the realms! AND. I. WILL. HAVE. YOUR. SOUL!_ _"_

With a roar, the human reared back with an overhead smash, aiming at Asriels center mass. Asriel himself was slightly off balance, unable to dodge. He gritted his teeth at the coming shock and raised his quarterstaff in a block. With almost explosive force, magical ice and steel struck enchanted wood and fire, and the 2 fighters locked weapons between each other, finding the others gaze. Valantis's was one of anger mixed with almost psychotic glee. Asriel's, in turn, was one of fear, but also defiant determination.

As they stood, magical fiery sparks and slivers of ice erupted from where their weapons touched. Suddenly, Asriel felt himself slide back. Humans consisted of more physical matter than monsters, which meant that they were simply much stronger. This fact was once again proven true, as Asriel was forced backwards, the icy sword creeping closer and closer to his face, as his feet slid back on the ground.

His eyes dashed back and forth, looking for something, any kind of opportunity he could exploit. He was unsteady on his feet so he couldn't reliably dodge out of the way. He couldn't disengage from the lock, as that would make Valantis's sword free to hit him. With rising fear, Asriel realized there wasn't much he could do prevent his impending death.

There was nothing he could do; his hands were tied holding his quarterstaff up, he kept sliding back across the floor and he could already feel the deathly chill of Valantis's sword upon his muzzle.

" _Gaargh!"_

Valantis suddenly spluttered as something rammed into him from behind, and he fell to a knee. Asriel, equally as flustered, nevertheless swiftly raised his leg, smashing his knee-cap into the humans face as it came down, knocking him back up and staggering back, disengaging from the struggle. Asriel quickly followed, spinning on his foot and using the momentum to smash his staff square into the humans cheek.

Valantis quickly recovered and dashed back out of range, nursing a split lip where the staff had struck him, and glaring angrily back at... not Asriel...

...But MK.

" _Yeah, that'll teach ya to mess with my friends!"_ the dinosaur yelled back from Asriels side.

" _MK, what-"_ Asriel started, still flustered.

" _I couldn't find a key and I saw that you were in trouble, so... dI- did I do good?"_

Asriel clasped a paw unto his head, and huffed a laugh.

" _Well, it's the second time you've saved my life so far, if that counts for anything"_

MK flashed a satisfied smile in response.

" _You.. imprudent... little whelp!"_ Valantis's gravely, angry voice suddenly came, rousing them both from their reverie.

" _Eeeek!"_ MK shrieked and quickly dashed away.

Steadying himself, Asriel met the furious gaze of Valantis, shoulders rising and falling rapidly with angry breaths.

" _Know this, Prince Asriel, I will take great pleasure in making your friends deaths as long and excruciating as possible"_

" _Never!"_ Asriel hissed back.

 _Oh, I will, and do you know why, little prince?"_ The king asked, glimmers of his former maniacal confidence returning.

" _It's because I won't stop until I'm dead, and you... well, you're not a killer, you don't have the guts to take a life, even if it meant saving everything and everyone you hold dear"_

" _You don't know anything about me!"_

" _I know enough – you think your foolish penchant for non-killing makes you strong, makes you right, when the crux of the matter actually is.. that you're just a coward, royalty too scared to dirty his hands for sake of his people. At least your father understood that"_

Asriel shook his head.

" _Choosing the easy way out is never worth it. My father did the mistake of thinking that... and it almost cost him everything in the end"_

Valantis straightened his back, and rolled his eyes.

" _Oh, would you please just shut up AND DIE!"_

Valantis suddenly shot forward, speeding like a bullet and sword tip aimed at tearing out Asriels throat.

But he was ready.

Asriel nimbly jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the frosted greatsword and smashed his fire and thunder enchanted staff into the kings unprotected side. He grimaced as he was rewarded with a loud but ineffective clank ringing of the kings armor, leaving a dent but nothing else.

The kings free hand shot out, intending to seize Asriel by the throat. He barely managed to roll under the offending limb, ending up behind Valantis. He stabbed with his staff, smashing the tip into the back of humans knee; he buckled, but he didn't fall. Instead, he swung his sword around, turning as he did. Asriel ducked low, and just barely managed to once again dodge a decapitating strike. It was becoming more and more obvious that he would have to strike at the kings head, his armor was simply too strong, enchanted with magic as it were, perhaps he-

" _Argh!"_

Asriel shouted in surprise as his feet suddenly slid away under him, and as he hit the frozen ground, he understood why.

Valantis had turned the marble floor around him into ice!

Asriel paniced as vainly tried to stand up, the slick ice floor frustrating his every attempt to get a grip or get to his feet.

Suddenly, but not unexpectedly, he felt the deathly chill of 5 frozen armor-clad fingers grasp his throat and hoist him up.

" _You are really starting to get on my nerves, boy!"_ The king growled.

Asriel barely managed a choked reply before he was unceremoniously hurled across the room. He tried to straighten out, to grasp at something, anything that would arrest his momentum.

But there was nothing. Nothing, at least, until he smashed into the wall at the other end of the room, like a comet impacting the earth, embedding himself in the hard stone in a crater almost a full meter deep

* * *

sans winced in sympathetic pain, as he watched monsterkinds last hope get hurled across the room, screaming, before suddenly turning into a temporary wall ornament.

He had to give the kid credit; he was barely surviving against an opponent that was far stronger and far more experienced that him.

But that was just it; he was barely surviving, but not winning. The king had been right, he supposed. This was a fight that couldn't be won trough non-killing, no one could. Well, except maybe Frisk, sans conceded in his mind, but the prince down there was not Frisk, not by a long shot.

He reached a bony hand down, sighing when he felt his fingertips scrape the bottom of his cup of popcorn. His last swig of the ketchup bottle had also drained if of it's last drop.

He leaned forward to get a better look of his fellow spectators down there. The 2 Dreemurs were standing in stunned silence, Undyne and Papyrus were both competing with each other on who could encourage the prince to get back up the fastest, and Monster Kid was hiding behind a toppled pillar. None of them could really be exspected to inervene in this, their final hour.

Whelp, there was nothing else for it, he had hoped he wouldn't have to interfere, but the show must go on, and that meant taking the scene by storm.

* * *

Asriel wheezed as he pulled himself from the wall. The air had been forced out of his lungs and his vision swam. Yet he was all too aware of the human coming for him, triumph gleaming in his eyes.

He waved a hand out, sending a fireball surging towards the human. It missed completely, pain and dizziness giving way to panic and lack of focus.

He steadied himself, holding his shaking arm still with the other. This time, the fireball was on point, but the human simply batted it away with the flat end of his sword. Asriel felt terror creep up his back as Valantis inched closer and closer. He was in no shape to fight; once the human got his hands on him, it would be all over.

He spread his feet, steadying his position. With both hands, he let out a torrential, blue-hot wave of fire that washed over the human.

Or, it would have, if it weren't because because the effort of channeling so much magic made his already throbbing headache explode with pain.

With a gasp, Asriel fell to his knees. This was it. He was wounded, dazed and weakened. In mere seconds, the human would reach him, cleave him in twain and steal his shared soul. He would die his second and final death, and all he held dear would follow soon after.

A grim determination blossomed in his chest, and he looked up at his approaching doom with stern defiance.

If he was going to die, he would at least make damn sure this maniac remembered it! He would know that the Dreemurrs would go out with an earth-shattering bang, not a scared whimper!

He hoisted his quarterstaff in a spear-throwing stance, willing all his magic and power into it. Once again, his vision went red with pain at the exertion, but, from deep within, a font of Determinations blossomed forth, lending him strenght, the power to push through. The quarterstaff cackled and flared with incredible magical power. Aiming and focusing as best as he could, Asriel threw the weapon at the old human king.

It had been a perfect throw; the staff cut and sailed cleanly trough the air like a missile, but already he could see it would not be enough. The human raised his blade, ready to simply deflect the incoming projectile. Sure, the force of it might stun him for a moment, but it would not be nearly enough to save him.

Suddenly, the human's sword arm was engulfed in dark-blue light. His former malicious grin turned to horror as his arm was yanked to the side by the strange force, leaving him vulnerable and completely exposed the incoming quarterstaff.

Like a lance from the gods, the staff impacted on the humans chest-plate with a blinding, booming explosion. Asriel had to crouch down and shield himself from the noise and light brought about by his own power. For what felt like minutes, he laid curled up as unadulterated power and force, more than he ever thought he had, washed over him. As the cacophony finally faded, he dared to look for his timely savior.

" _sans!"_

The skeleton in question was facing an ash-filled crater, where Valantis used to stand.

He drew breath; Already, Asriel could see the telltale sign of sans about to deliver his "dunked on" line.

But instead, he deflated and lowered his shoulders.

 _"_ _nah, you're not worth a good "punch"-line"_

He turned to Asriel.

" _hey, you alright there, buddy?_

 _Uhh, yeah, I think so. Thanks for the save_ _"_

 _"_ _sure about that? looked to me that he broke your asriel_ _"_ _femur""_

 _Asriels face fell in a deadpan. Shesh, even now..._

 _ ***krnk**_ _*_

" _SANS!"_ Asriel cried out, as he saw the skeleton suddenly get encased in a block of magical ice.

" _If you think... this is over... you are sorely mistaken... prince"_ An angry voice rasped.

Asriel felt his soul constrict in fear at the sound. Out of the ash-filled crater, like a demon clawing it's way out of hell, crawled the old human king.

" _I have not... waited these hundreds of years... just to fail now... and not you, nor that comedian... will change that"_

Both the humans pauldrons were gone. His armor was bloodied, gouged and rent in several places. His right eye was closed over with a smear of dark blood, and from the way his voice seemed to gurgle and rasp, Asriel figured the human had punctured a lung. The huge, black burn mark on his chest-plate also gave credence to this.

Yet the humans sword still gleamed with a cold, magical light.

Asriel slowly got to his feet. He could feel his vision and balance stabilize, and his whole body didn't hurt as much anymore.

The human held out a hand, and Asriel immediately readied himself. But the gesture wasn't aimed at him, instead, the ice block encasing sans suddenly began creaking. With horror, Asriel realized that the ice block was shrinking, crushing sans within. With a sickening * **snap** *, he saw a long fracture appear on sans's skull, crossing over his eye-socket.

" _NO!"_ Asriel cried out as he charged at the human, all sense of self-preservation forgotten at the notion, that someone else might be in danger. His quarterstaff soared out of the crater, emitting a magical chirp, and landing easily into Asriels paw, as he jumped up high to smash it down on Valantis

The humans hand returned to his sword, raising it to deflect Asriels quarterstaff. He succeeded, but with a grunt of effort and slight stagger that wasn't there before. He was about as dazed as his mauled figure would suggest, not that Asriel was feeling much better.

Asriel continued with his relentless assault. Not even caring that Flowey was once again making him use more power and strength in his attacks than intended, not even noticing that he was grinning devilishly at the humans worried look, as he was beaten back, barely managing to hold off the monster.

The staff snuck gracefully past his guard and smashed into the side of his knee, making him buckle. His weapon clanked off the armor, and using the knock-back, Asriel swung upwards, smashing the fiery, arcing staff into the kings head with enough force to spin him around.

Asriel quickly stepped forward and kicked low, willing magic into his foot as he did. The king barely managed to step back from the inferno-kick aimed at his shins, but that was not the end of it. Asriel followed trough with the motion, quickly arcing his leg upwards, and smashing the heel of his fire and lighting enchanted foot into the kings nose in a axe-kick.

This time, Valantis actually fell to a knee as he staggered back from the blow. Asriel surged forward, Floweys influence granting him a battle-lust he was just barely aware of.

But in his rush, he didn't notice the king deftly and swiftly drawing a small symbol on the floor as he was kneeling.

He struck out with his staff once again, but the human jumped backwards, out of reach. Asriel immediately made to follow him, but with a yelp, he almost fell flat on his face when his feet didn't move. Looking down, he saw them both encased in ice.

He felt rising apprehension in his chest. Being able to move and dodge quickly was a pillar in the way Asriel fought. Unlike the human king, he couldn't very well stand and block and deflect. He could melt the enchanted ice with his own magic, but that would take time.

Time, he realized as he looked up, he didn't have.

The kings hand, encased in centimeters thick hardened, magical ice smashed into Asriel, the ice shattering into thousands of small, razor-sharp slivers as it did so. Asriel was thrown backwards once again, dust trailing from his broken nose, and from the myriad of small cuts he had gotten from the ice slivers.

He crashed back into floor. He felt numb all over, a bad sign, sign that he was losing consciousness.

He barely managed to roll his eyes to look at Valantis, his vision darkening already starting to darken.

The human stood, clearly tired and weakened, heaving deep breaths. That last punch had evidently almost drained him of all he had.

From behind him, he saw MK jump over a pillar and charge at the king from behind again.

Asriel tried to call him to stop, to tell him to flee, but he was shattered, broken, he barely had enough energy to maintain consciousness.

Valantis flashed him a knowing smile; immediately, he felt his heart sink. The way the king was holding his blade! He had seen MK coming at him from behind in it's reflection!

Asriel limply raised a paw at MK.

" _S-stop..."_ he rasped, so quietly he barely heard it himself.

But there was no stopping that charging bundle of scaled vengeance that was Monster Kid.

But as he reached the king, he did stop.

Just before he would have made impact, Valantis stepped to the side and brought his ice-sword up, slicing the blade clean across MK's body.

The dinosaurs eyes widened in surprise and pain as his charge came to a halt. He fell to his knees, particles of dust already starting to trail off his body, as he looked at Asriel, with teary, apologetic eyes.

Despite his battered form, Asriel managed a choked _"NO!"_

This was more than Asriel could handle. You could break him, beat him, punish him and he would be okay with it. Physical injuries could heal.

But there was no healing the abyssal void of fear, regret, shame and failure that flooded Asriel as he saw the one he had sworn to protect slowly turn to dust in front of his very eyes.

This was too much. No more, no more, no more...

The last thing heard before merciful oblivion finally claimed him, sparing him from his torment of failure, was his mothers anguished scream, and Frisk's worried voice calling to him, drawing him once again into his mindscape.

* * *

 **Whelp, it's not looking good :O**


	20. Kings and Gods Part 2

_"_ _Don't you have anything better to do?"_ The lost prince asked Frisk. Their only answer was to stand firm, looking at him sitting in the small patch of flowers with a sympathetic look.

Asriels eyes glistened as he tried to keep them from leaking tears down his cloudy white fur. How he deeply wished he could go, and live alongside them. But that could never happen; he had sealed his own fate, their happiness in return for his.

It was only fair.

He turned around, facing the flowerbed _"_ _Someone has to take care of these flowers"_

Saying that only made the pain in his heart ever more profound. His best friend laid buried here, long dead and forgotten by most. Even if he was to live an eternity as a soulless husk, at least he'd always have the memories of all the happy times they've had together, along with the knowledge that everyone else was happy as well. Soon, he would no longer be able to care about them, but right now, even in this moment, it made him happy. His parents would have a new child to love and care for and fill the void he had left behind, and all the other denizens of The Underground would finally have their dreams of reaching the surface fulfilled. He was... content, he supposed. He had to tell himself that. As long as he had the memory of Chara, and the knowledge that everyone else was happy, he supposed he could be happy too.

But that would also be all he would ever have. No living friends, no family, no warmth...

He clenched his paws as the dam finally broke. He almost wished his transformation into a flower would come sooner, so he wouldn't have to feel so much.

He suddenly became aware of a glowing red light coming from behind him.

" _You promised me a happy ending"_ Came Frisk's voice.

Asriel turned around, gasping as he saw Frisk's soul cupped in their hands.

" _Frisk! Wh-what are you-"_

" _But i can't have that_ _without you, Asriel. Please..."_

The realization of what they intended dawned on Asriel. He choked a quiet laugh, flattered beyond words at their altruistic offer.

 _Frisk. That... It-it wouldn't be fair to anyone. I don't deserve that... and you deserve a happy life on the surface, with everyone else, and-"_

Without a word, Frisk started walking towards him, still offering their soul.

Asriel backed away, raising his hands.

" _Frisk, please! Think how mom... How Toriel would react if you disappeared! It would break her heart! I can't do that to her again, please..."_

" _But she would have you, and I would still be there, alongside you"_ They said calmly, as if totally unaware that what they were saying, meant the death of their physical body.

Asriel sighed and looked away. _"_ _Mom... made peace with my... with our deaths many years ago... if I came back, it would just make a mess of things... besides, she has you now. I'm sure you can make her happier than I ever could..."_

" _Don't say that! She still loves you deeply! Your father too... they still miss you so much, Asriel"_

Once again they inched closer. Asriel looked at the offered, sanguine heart-shaped soul. He felt bad; he deeply, greedily, desperately wanted to reach out and take it. He wanted to live again, to be with everyone else again.

He thought back, to when his mother would read him and Chara stories at their bedside when he was younger. Usually adventures of brave heroes surmounting incredible dangers, sometimes even defying death itself to be with those they loved.

But only true heroes deserved such a chance, not someone like him.

Yet Frisk remained undeterred. Still standing, and offering their soul.

Asriel took a deep breath.

 _"_ _You... do realize what will happen to you, if I take your soul, right?_

Frisk nodded.

 _"_ _I would get the brother I always wanted"_ They said with a smile.

Asriel couldn't help but tear up at that

" _Brother"..._ Only Chara had ever called him that, but hearing Frisk do it made him feel... proud, humbled almost.

He reached a paw out to the soul, feeling a warm, gentle heat emanating from it. Frisk's soul also moved, if tentatively, edging closer to his paw. He could feel that it wanted this, that it wanted him to take it.

Swallowing what remained of his hesitation and restraint, he touched the heart. Instantly, the room was bathed in blinding light, soon followed by darkness as the spiritual shock of having his body filled with such a powerful soul so quickly sent Asriel into unconsciousness.

As he floated in that endless abyss of blackness, he dreamed. The first time ever in, oh, so many years.

He dreamed that he could hear Frisk, that he could see all their memories both before and after coming to The Underground.

" _Whatever happens, I will always be with you. Whatever happens, I know you will do good. Whatever happens, you will never be alone again..._

 _Asriel... my brother"_

He swore that he would do all in his power to ensure Frisks' sacrifice wasn't in vain. He would live, he would be happy, he would protect their memory and soul.

He would be like a brother to them.

And he would not fail his sibling again.

* * *

Toriel screamed as she saw her only child being dashed against the floor by the evil human. It was a scream tinted by madness. She had already seen him die once with their sibling, and that had almost driven her over the edge. Now, realizing that it might happen again, it was simply too much.

It was horrible, it was terrifying, it was... laughably ridiculous.

As her scream waned, it gave way to a dark, demented laughter. That this could happen had to be a joke, surely fate and whatever gods existed in this world couldn't so cruel as to force a mother to relive the death of her son twice!

" _Ha...hahaha... hehe... HAHAHAHAHA!"_

She laughed louder. She had to, because if she didn't she would cry instead, and if she began to cry, she would never be able to stop.

She felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her from behind.

" _My love, please..."_ Asgore pleaded from behind.

She continued to laugh.

" _Tori, please, stop..."_

She spun around and planted a stinging slap across his cheek. Asgore flinched but didn't back away.

"NO! HAHA! DON'T YOU GET IT!? THIS CAN'T BE REAL! HEHEHE! IT'S ALL JUST A DREAM! HE CAN'T BE GONE! HAHAHA! THIS ISN'T REAL! IT CAN'T BE! IT'S NOT... IT'S NOT..."

Cruel clarity shone trough her madness. She tried to laugh, to keep up her crazed barrier, but she couldn't, there was nothing to laugh about, and there never would be again. She had dared hope this wouldn't happen, that her child would be able to prevail, but deep inside, she had known that this had to be the only outcome. She had been lying to herself, hoping that her heart wouldn't be broken all over again.

Asgore grabbed her by the shoulders, and ever so gently turned her around, facing the scene of her tragedy.

" _It IS real, but don't give up hope just yet. Look!"_

She did. All she could see was a sight that threatened to toss her back into madness. The human standing triumphant, her son's body lying lifeless, the-

Wait...

His body, not his dust.

Immense relief, almost enough to make her faint, flooded trough her soul.

Perhaps, there actually was still hope.

* * *

" _Asriel, my brother..."_

Asriel heard the voice, doing his best to focus on it. He was back in the endless space of darkness that made up his... subconsciousness or mindscape, he supposed.

" _Don't give up! Stay determined!"_

He clung to their words, doing his best to find it. Slowly, Frisk appeared, as if a thick fog dissipated around them. They smiled nervously, a far cry from the warm one they usually wore. That fact alone was enough to hammer home how much he had failed; as their protector, as their guardian, as their brother.

And it wasn't only them he had failed; the cruel, horrific image of Valantis's blade slicing into MK stole into his mind, not even here, in his own mind could he find refuge from his failings.

He knew his body was unconscious, completely at the mercy of Valantis. If he was lucky, he would never wake up. If he was unlucky, he would open his eyes to a world he would no longer be able to appreciate.

" _It's not really going so great, is it?"_ Frisk asked, still smiling nervously.

Asriel looked down, shaking his head slowly _"_ _No, I... I'm sorry Frisk, I thought I could beat_ _him, but... I guess... I wasn't strong enough. I failed you Frisk... and MK, too... I FAILED EVERYONE!_ _"_ He finished with a shout of utter despair and fell to his knees. He kept looking away, finding himself unable to look Frisk in the eyes.

Their response, as it always was when he was down and out, was to walk up to him, and envelop him in a warm hug. They also reached up with a hand, and scratched the inside of one of his ears. For a moment, Asriel was lost in a brief wave of comfortable bliss; his eyes closed and his tongue slightly looped out of his muzzle.

It wasn't enough to stave off the deep sense of regret and shame he held within. Frisk had entrusted him with their soul, he had sworn to protect MK and he had failed them both.

" _But what if you were stronger?"_ They suddenly asked.

" _Huh?... well, perhaps, but... Frisk, it's over. I let you down, I let everyone down, I-"_

" _Just stop!"_ They snapped, backing away from their hug.

Despite their difference in size, Asriel felt terrified and hurt at the small humans words. It was the first time they had ever snapped at him.

" _Frisk, I-"_

" _I have told you many times; you have nothing to apologize for! You haven't failed anyone! You keep thinking you owe the world and everyone, but believe me, you don't!_ _"_

Their face became a bit softer.

" _And I don't think you ever will"_

" _Frisk..."_

 _"_ _I'm sorry about MK... he was a good friend, but he wouldn't have wanted you to give up now!"_

They looked to the side.

" _Do you remember when we fought? Back in The Underground?"_ They asked, voice slow and thoughtful.

Asriel sighed _"_ _I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that"_

" _You killed me"_ Frisk suddenly blurted out.

Asriel felt a sharp pang of shame at the memory _"_ _Well, yes... b-but you refused! I remember, you-"_

His eyes went wide as he realized where Frisk was going. He remembered several of his resets as Flowey. Runs where Undyne, perhaps the only monster to hold innate determination, had been pushed to the edge. Her determination had made her even more powerful, a force of good, determined to protect her friends.

But it had also killed her.

" _Frisk, I'm not sure this is such great idea"_

Frisk nodded understandingly.

" _I know, but... I really don't want Valantis_ _to take me away from you. You're the only one who can stop him"_

" _I'm not sure I can, even with your Determination, and... it might kill me_ _"_

" _Don't be afraid. I would never let my determination hurt you. I can always take it back"_ They said reassuringly, smiling wide now.

Asriel let out a pent up breath. It was true that determination could be used to empower monsters as well, thought it would kill them over time, turning them into goop. It wasn't as potent as a human soul, but depending on how much a monster could get, their power could still be increased dramatically. Frisk was just about the most determined human in existence, and they were offering him theirs.

" _Alright_ _, if you're sure, then we-"_

" _Take mine as well!"_ A shrill voice called out.

Asriel scowled at the voice of that damn flower.

" _What?"_ he said with a growl, and spun around, facing the pestering weed.

Flowey was eagerly bouncing up and down on his stem when he answered.

" _I got DT too! You can have it, please! I just don't wanna die!"_

" _Die?"_

" _Well, duh, if you die, I die! And I don't want none of that!"_ Flowey blurted with desperation.

Asriel looked away, contemplating the offer. He knew first-hand that Flowey did have a lot of DT, not as much as Frisk, but still, enough that it could easily make a difference.

But taking his offer meant letting Flowey completely into his soul, something he had tried to keep him from ever since he reemerged those 4 years ago. Floweys determination was tainted, evil even, a reflection of the weed's cynical nature, but undeniably potent and powerful.

He looked back at Frisk, still displaying that bright smile that soothed his soul, that reassured him that he would never again truly be alone.

He would do anything to ensure they never lost that.

If it meant saving Frisk from the horrible fate Valantis had planned for them, he would gladly damn himself a thousand times.

" _Fine, but don't try anything funny!"_ He snapped at the flower.

The flower, in turn, grinned maliciously.

" _Of course! Pinky promise!"_ He responded, holding up a leaf.

Asriel scowled; Flowey wasn't one to keep a promise, but his DT might make all the difference. If saving them all required a pact with this floral devil then so be it.

Asriel placed himself in between the 2; his former self, and his savior. 2 people who were about as different as it was possible to be. One a chilling reminder what a lack of love and care for others can drive a person to become, the other a symbol of virtues and kindness that he could only hope to one day match. And they were both a part of him.

So what, in truth, did that make him, he wondered?

" _Alright... I'm ready"_ Asriel said, almost a whisper and closed his eyes.

Frisk flashed him a proud, happy look.

" _I know you can do this. Just... remember what you once told me..."_

They closed their eyes.

" _... Don't kill and don't get killed. Even if it seems like the easiest or only thing to do, please... don't sink to his level"_ They finished eyes still closed.

" _I promise"_ Asriel answered with a nod.

He felt an incredible power fill up in him. Slowly streaming out into his limbs. As if a stream of warm water flooded his body and limbs, warm and invigorating. More than that, it was intoxicating! It felt incredible! A mixture of euphoria and confidence! Determination, the manifested force of will, the resolve to change fate coursed trough him

Suddenly, his right paw felt wet. With horror, he realized it was melting! Already it was too much, he was dying! He didn't want to! Not now! He refused to die now!

Somehow, as if acting on his wish and will alone, his paw felt solid again, his fur losing the wet, glistening sheen and returning to normal. No wonder Frisk defeated The God of Hyperdeath so easily, what with the ability to simply stare death in the face, say no, and live on.

As the power surging trough him began to ebb, he refocused it all. Frisk had been able to deny death; with that determination, forcing himself to wake up from unconsciousness would be as easy as butterscotch-cinnamon pie.

He slowly felt himself come to, the throne room gently came into view. It was hard to focus with the delirious sensation of having so much power coursing trough him.

It even made him blind to the small, snake-like vines that entered his vision, and sneakily wrapped around his soul.

* * *

Valantis huffed and panted from the exertion of magic and his many wounds, grimacing as he did so. His broken ribs ground together with every breath, and he had to stop and cough up blood from a ruined lung every few seconds. He would have to undergo weeks of monster healing magic, and regular human medical attention once he was done here.

But at least the prone and unconscious body of the Prince of All Monsters reminded him of the most important detail. He had won! The prince had proven more difficult to subdue that anticipated, and his friends intervention had almost ruined his plans for good, but despite that he was victorious, at last! After all these hundreds of years!

Even better, the prince being unconscious presented the perfect opportunity for some revenge. The prince had obviously tried being soulless before, and deeply feared it. Having him wake up to that nightmare again would make for the perfect punishment, he might not be able to fully appreciate the scope of his fate, with him being unable to feel almost anything, but he would know what had happened, and it would no doubt hurt him greatly.

The human grinned darkly at the thought. He didn't consider himself an overtly spiteful person, but, damn, the magical spear the prince had thrown at him had stung quite bit, possibly the worst pain he had ever experienced.

And NO ONE, would lay a hand on the one true king without suffering for it!

He trotted over to one of the tables in his makeshift lab, grimacing and grunting every step of the way. Even walking hurt, perhaps he had broken a leg... or 2. A lesser human would never have been able to move, but he had long since figured out, that incredible resilience was one of the perks of having a dual soul.

He finally reached the table, and opened a drawer; retrieving a strange, pistol-looking device with a large glass-canister attached to it, a SOUL-extractor! A marvel of engineering made possible trough a combination of technology and magic, capable of extracting a soul without killing the host. He had planned to simply take the prince's soul upon his death, but this was simply too good an opportunity to pass up. Satisfied that the device was still in good condition, despite the chaos that had raged in the room, he turned and walked towards his prey; the prince.

" _Wait, what are you doing!?"_

Asgore called out from his cage.

The human turned his head to retort, instantly regretting it, as pain flared trough his head.

" _Please! Don't do it! Don't do this to him! Hasn't he suffered enough!?"_

Toriel pleaded him.

He ignored them. Their time had passed. When he had recovered from his wounds, he would kill them as well. He had promised that, after all, and he would not be known as a liar.

He passed the ice-encased skeletal comedian and gave it quick kick. _"_ _ **Ice**_ _to meet you too,_ _Hope_ _you're keeping all warm and cozy in there, Mr. Humerus_ _"_

He might have imagined it, but for a brief second, he thought he could actually hear the skeleton laugh from within his frozen prison.

He clenched his fist in anger. The ice-block shrank a bit more, and he grinned with delight, as he heard the skeletons bones creak, fractures lines running across his head and body. He would enjoy breaking and torturing this one.

" _YOU RAPSCALLION! LET MY BROTHER GO, AT ONCE!"_ An annoyingly loud voice called. That other skeleton he had captured. Taller, and with a red scarf around it's neck.

" _Brother, huh?"_ He whispered under his breath. Interesting...

A pained whimper coming from his side roused him from his thoughts. He looked over. The small dinosaur-like monster, Monster Kid, he believed he was called, was somehow still alive, arm-less and awkwardly trying to crawl away, dust leaking from the deep gash he had cut across his stomach.

He lightly kicked the wounded monster unto it's back as he passed it, eliciting another pained grunt.

" _Sc-screw you..."_ The pathetic thing rasped back at him.

Valantis chuckled quietly; yet another fool paying the price for opposing him. That he was still alive was commendable, but it was a fleeting prospect. The monster was leaking a lot of dust and already the scales on his body were draining into a cold gray.

It was a curious situation; he could easily heal the wound and have the cretin taken away for later torture; it was his right as king, after all. But then again, it was just a kid, an annoying, asinine one but a kid nonetheless.

He settled for the middle ground; he would simply let the wounded dinosaur bleed out on the floor. It would be a slow death, and it would hurt the whole time, but it would still be a mercy compared to what he would have endured in his private torture chambers.

He really was too soft, he figured as he turned away.

He continued to shuffle wearily towards Asriel. When he finally arrived and stood above him, he found himself with a simple, yet annoying ordeal ahead of him. He would have to kneel down in order to plant the SOUL-extractor into the monster, but kneeling down meant resting his body painfully on broken bones.

He took a deep breath. Well, no one ever said being a monarch was a pleasant thing, and achieving your dreams meant having to make sacrifices.

He fell to his knees, his vision flashing an angry red as pain flooded his body. It was almost unbearable, but only almost. Biting trough the pain, he latched one hand on Asriels shoulder, steadying himself as he brought the SOUL-extractor to his neck.

He heard the prince's mother scream at him to stop, to spare him, and the loud rattling of metal as his father desperately tried to pry the cage bars.

He ignored them, they wouldn't have to suffer long once he was done here. Just a prick and pull of the trigger, and he would finally have what he had sought these hundreds of years, his plans would finally come to fruition, his ambitions would finally be-

He gasped in surprise, as the prince's paws suddenly sprang to life. One seizing him at the throat, and the other grabbing his wrist with the SOUL-extractor. Then, almost as an afterthought, his eyes opened as well. Gone were those warm, brown eyes, instead replaced by black orbs. His face was an eery blank canvas of unemotional emptiness.

Valantis clawed at the monsters hands, trying to tear them off, but the monster had grabbed him with incredible strength, more than even he, a human, could ever hope to overcome.

The prince slowly rose to his feet, still holding him by the throat. As the monster stood to its full height, the human was held off the ground, feet dangling a few inches off the ground. No matter what he tried, he could not break free; he was too weak and wounded, and the monster, despite all the punishment he had taken, was somehow stronger than ever.

The monster's grip tightened. He gasped for breath as Asriels claws dug into the flesh of his throat, and he dropped the SOUL-extractor to the floor, as the prince's iron hold on his wrist threatened to break it.

Then, just before he was sure the monster would snap his neck, he let go of his wrist, placing the paw on his chestplate.

The sudden magical force that smashed into him, was like getting gut-punched by a heat-seeking missile, and valantis was sent flying backwards, crashing into the floor.

He quickly sat up, ignoring the screams of his protesting limbs and broken bones. The sight of the prince before him chilled even him to his core.

The prince stood – no, hovered, a few inches off the ground, looking at his hands with amazement, as if he had never seen them before. A flash of light suddenly engulfed him, the breath caught in Valantis's throat as he saw the creature that now stood before him.

It was Asriel, but somehow... more menacing. His horns had grown long and curled, dark lines ran from his eyes to the back of his head. His robes had changed from tight-fitted and combat-oriented, to a more formal, cape-less and dress-like one, with a darker shade of purple and the Delta Rune proudly displayed in the center.

All in all, he looked much less ready for fighting, but in truth that only made him appear all the more frightening.

As the human stood up, he felt his sins run down his back. For the first time in hundreds of years, he felt real terror.

* * *

Asriel almost had to gasp in contentment at the sensation of it all. This was almost just like back in The Underground 4 years ago, the tingling, pleasant feeling of the unbridled power that suffused his being, like a never-ending rush of euphoria and adrenaline. The empowering confidence of knowing that there really wasn't much he couldn't do. He imagined that if he were to place his paws to the ground and blast it with all his might, he could very well destroy the whole planet. He wouldn't do that, though; that would ruin all the fun.

A curious smell assailed his nose. A heavy, metallic smell.

Blood. So different from the more sweet aroma of monster dust he knew so well.

He looked to it's source. Ah, yes, lest he forget, he still had a foe to subdue. An insect to squash!

He slowly stalked towards the now terrified human, unable to stop grinning from the sheer thought of all the things he was going to do to him. Perhaps he would trap him in a cage of white-hot fire, he could watch him burn to near death, and then, just as the great dark would claim him, he would heal him to full health, and do it all over again.

Perhaps he could be a bit more vulgar, and just simply rip the human limb from limb. A simple effort, but the thought of blood splattering him was undeniably exciting.

His foot stumbled upon something. He looked down, finding his ever faithful weapon; his quarterstaff.

He gingerly picked it up. It looked smaller, or was it just him that had grown bigger? He gazed up as he heard a pained cough from the human. It was time for some fun, after all, any true predator always toyed with it's prey. Hoisting the quarterstaff on his shoulder, he continued his confident movement towards the human.

Stars! Frisk's soul by itself had made him strong, but if he had known it contained such an untapped reservoir of practically god-like power locked away, he would have taken it for himself years ago!

The human king hefted his magical, ice-encrusted sword in his hand. With a roar of fear, he swung it at the new god of monsters.

Despite his wounds, he was still about as fast as he had been when they had fought normally, yet Asriel couldn't help but laugh darkly at how slow and pathetic he now seemed. Already before the human had swung, he could see the arc and trajectory it would travel in near-perfect detail. The inhuman speed the king had possessed now seemed incredibly slow, as if he was shooting a slow-mo movie scene, while underwater.

Asriel casually reached a paw out and pinched, catching the sword completely still between his 2 claws. Valantis looked in utter amazement, a look that turned to horror, as Asriel calmly flicked his wrist, snapping the blade in 2.

The human stumbled back in disbelief, holding the now useless pommel of his once mighty, enchanted sword. Asriel relished the look of fear on the humans face, a clear reminder of his superiority. Here was the human that bad banished his people by right to the darkness, the one that had condemned them to a dire fate locked away beneath the earth and he was afraid, so deathly afraid of him, Asriel Dreemurr, God of All Monsters!

He grabbed his quarterstaff in both ends. With a quick infusion of magic, and a pull, he sent the staff into blindingly fast rotation. It hung in the air, spinning maddeningly like a propeller, magic, multicolored fire spitting out everywhere.

The human king gasped, completely mesmerized by the light show occurring in front of him. Asriel couldn't help but smile evilly at his reaction. It was such an honest emotion, his mind befuddled by fear and pain, and yet he was entranced by a simple jesters trick. It made him want to hurt him.

Nimbly, he kicked out, his foot entered the rotational arc of his staff, fast enough to avoid hitting it. The human king never even saw it coming. Asriels foot smashed into his head in a roundhouse kick, and he chuckled as he felt the humans cheek opened up into bloody rifts by the claws on his foot.

The human was thrown back, lines of blood trailing from his ruined face. Asriel himself let the momentum from his kick spin him around 180 degrees. Without looking, he reached a paw behind him, effortlessly grabbing the staff out of the air. For a moment, he felt Frisk's soul shiver inside him, almost as if disgusted. He brushed it off, he was above their petty concerns now.

He turned around. The human laid on the floor once again, blood spilling out from his many wounds. Asriel practically salivated as he imagined the act of tearing the human open like a Christmas present, and consume the soul within. Sure, his grandfather would be taken as well, but that would be a just reward for a coward that would so easily surrender to the humans!

As he continued his dark march towards his prey, he became aware of something wrong. He stopped up looked down. Frisk's soul seemed agitated, but that was not the cause. His weapon... a stick...

Even before his ascendance, he had been a prince, royalty of the highest esteem.

And he had chosen A GLORIFIED STICK, of all things, as his choice of weapon? Because of some idiotic notion of non-lethality? Because of stupid morals that forbade him from killing?

No, he was above such concerns now, and above the consequences that might follow.

He raised the staff above his head, and in one quick motion, broke it over his knee, it crackled as the latent magic contained within was released, but he nevertheless threw the pieces off to the side.

He heard the human whimpering, he was dizzily standing, swaying to and fro, barely able to keep himself from tipping over. It sounded almost like his 76th reset, where he had taken a page out of Chara's book, and used a knife to slowly carve a whole monster family into pieces, he remembered with a smile.

Well, he didn't have a knife now, even though he could easily materialize one in his hand. In fact, there wasn't much he couldn't do; at his command the clouds would parts ways and an earth-shattering bolt of lightning would pierce down, smashing trough the domed ceiling to vaporize the human king, at his behest any kind of weapon he could imagine could materialize in his paws, ready to inflict immeasurable pain on any he so wished it upon.

Anything...

He could do anything, and nothing and no one would be able to stop him.

But this one, this ancient enemy of monsters deserved special treatment, something brutal, something... personal.

His face contorted into a devilish wide grin, revealing long rows of razor-sharp teeth. He leapt a good 5 meters into the air, and crashed down unto the ailing human, smashing him into the floor, and crushing whatever resistance he might have offered. Without pause, he tore and rent the humans armor to pieces with his bare paws. His claws easily piercing the thick, enchanted armor, finding the flesh beneath. The human cried as he weakly tried to fend off the ravening beast, but it was in vain. There was nothing he could do, as the demon prince tore him to shreds, it's once pristine robe becoming splattered with blood.

Asriel cackled loud and proudly as he committed the brutal act. He could feel the humans life-force dwindling. Soon, he would die, and then he would have another soul to consume, to further cement his power.

" _ASRIEL!"_ A strange voice rung trough his head. Strange, because it sounded like several voices combined into one, his mother one of them.

He gazed over at the old crone in her cage, feeling nothing but contempt. How dare she interrupt her god in a moment like this!?His ultimate victory!? When he was done with the human, he would turn to her and rip her apart! HHer insolence would be rewarded with pain! With agony! He would...

… His own mother?

His breath caught in his throat in a gasp.

" _ASRIEL!"_ The voice called out again, this time, he heard his father and Frisk as well. They sounded... horrified... of him.

The human had grown still beneath him, a slow rise and fall of his chest and the tears running down his face the only indications that he was still alive. Asriel felt a warmness on his paws. He raised them in front of him. Thick, sticky blood clung to them, the human equivalent of dust. He caught his own reflection in the warm liquid. His eyes alight with a hellish, red glow, his muzzle formed into a wide snarl filled with razor-sharp teeth, his horns gnarled and barbed. And his face and muzzle completely covered in red.

He looked more like a demon than a god. He felt like one to. Even after all these years, the God of Hyperdeath was still within him.

He slid off the barely breathing human, down on his rump. The shame and regret that filled him as his past few actions and thoughts dawned on him, were almost too great for him to bear. He felt numb, he felt empty, he felt dead.

He slowly looked over at one of the cages. Undyne stood, wide-eyed and slack-jawed in shock. To her side, Papyrus stood, hands over his mouth, looking like a squeamish school-girl, revolted and scared. Behind them both, Alphys had fainted on the floor.

In the other cage, his father stood, his face looking equal parts surprised, equal parts disappointed, holding his mothers shoulders. She herself had her back turned, paws to her face and shoulders heaving, crying. His father had been shielding her from the sight of him tearing into the human.

He even saw Monster Kid, somehow alive and lucid, sitting with his back to a wall, terrified... of him.

These, his friends and family, and they were all scared of him, what he had become, what he did.

Asriel himself was at a loss for words. How had he fallen so far? How could he so blatantly have ignored everything his parents had taught him about mercy? How could he so easily have forgotten and ignored the promise he had just made to Frisk?

He caught the sight of a snaking vine in the corner of his minds eye, and the answer was clear.

" _Flowey...!"_ He hissed, his cold shame turning to hot anger in his chest.

" _Gah! Why do you always have to stop when were so close!? You almost had him!"_ The flower pouted within him.

" _Flowey... what have you done!? What did you do to me!?"_

" _I did what was necessary! What would you have done with all that DT, huh? Mercy the human to death? Spare him until he died of old age? So yeah, I had to turn down the love and crank up the LOVE a bit, but I think we can both agree on the result. Just look at the guy! You almost literally_ _tore him a new one! You've won!"_

" _YOU USED ME! TURNED ME INTO... INTO A DEMON!"_ Asriel screamed inside his soul.

Flowey sighed tiredly in response _"_ _Remember what you told Frisky once? Not every problem can be solved with kindness and mercy?"_

He gulped.

" _YOU said that, not me. Goes to show, no matter what you are, no matter what you think you are, "Kill or be killed" will always be a part of you, Azzy, and you know it, no matter how hard you try to deny it. You might be The Angel of the Prophecy, but we both know that you're no true angel..._

 _Even without me, you're more than capable of taking a life... All you need is a little shove, a gentle push, and even you can fall... And don't you EVER dare think otherwise!_ _"_

Asriel shivered. He tried coming up with a retort, but lies could never best a truth.

He hadn't been possessed like back on the boat. He had been in full control and aware of his actions, and yet, it was like he was someone else. Was this what having a high amount of LOVE was like? It had felt...good.

He felt sick. Giving up on his attempt to spare the human had felt so easy, so good. It was wrong, but nevertheless felt right.

Just what kind of monster was he?

He felt a thick bead of sweat on his brow, and raised a paw to wipe it away.

Something was wrong, the sweat seemed oddly thick and viscous. It was milky-white and flecked with fur.

His fur.

He was melting again! The DT inside him turning against him!

Frisk's soul recoiled inside him. Slowly, the squirming of their soul turned into a hole. An enormous, black void inside him, that sucked both his consciousness and DT into it.

* * *

Before he knew it, Asriel was back inside the vast empty space he had been so many times. Frisk stood before him, back turned.

He knew why. This time, even Frisk couldn't just ignore his failings. Even they wouldn't be able to forgive him.

Asriel limply reached a paw out to them, wishing deeply he could find the words to apologize.

Why was it that every time they meet, he had to apologize? Why was it that every time he was granted the honor of being with his savior, it was because he had failed them?

His arm fell limp at his side. Even in here, in his own mind, he could feel that the DT had been drained from him. He still had the power of a human soul, but he was no longer a god. If he ever had truly been.

Frisk drew in a deep breath before him.

" _I'm leaving..."_ They said quietly.

Asriel felt intense pain flood his core. He had expected as much. He knew human souls were strong enough to leave a monster if they so desired, it had happened to him in his Omega Flowey form. He was honestly surprised Frisk had tolerated his failings for so long, and hadn't left him sooner.

Nevertheless, knowing that Frisk, the best person he knew in the world and his savior would leave him, drained him of what vestiges of hope he had left. They had been a part of him for 4 years, and now, they would leave.

Frisk turned around. They looked sad, but not angry or even disappointed.

" _You need help, more than I can give from within you"_

Asriels ears twitched at the words. Even now, they would still help him?

Frisk looked to the side. An image of the fake female Frisk Valantis had made materialized. They didn't say a word.

Asriel understood completely. Why stay within him when they could have a body of their own?

In all honestly, the thought excited him. The fake Frisk was an empty vessel, Valantis had said. Soulless, but very much alive. If Frisk's soul were to posses it, would they...

Frisk turned to look back at Asriel, with a happy but resigned smile, they walked over to him.

" _I'm glad you had the sense to stop yourself before you... did something we would both regret"_

He gulped.

" _But... it's clear that you're still haunted by your past. I will help you, I want to, but that means I will have to go..."_

Asriel nodded. He didn't want to; losing the calming presence Frisk had maintained within him the last 4 years seemed horrible. But if it was what Frisk wanted, he would not stand in their way, ever.

" _But... before I leave you, my brother, I have one last gift to give you"_

They stopped up before him, looking him straight in the eye.

" _Your freedom. I took all the determination you had been given_ "

They smiled slyly.

" _Floweys included. He won't ever be able to taint you again"_

Asriel felt an immense weight being lifted off his shoulders. This would mean... that Flowey would be completely neutralized forever! He would still be a part of his being, but without his DT, he would never again be able to control or influence his mind and body!

He felt shame at the gift, and already he felt misty around his eyes. This was pretty much the 2nd time Frisk had saved his life. He could never be able to repay their kindness and sacrifice.

Yet he vowed that he would try. As long as he drew breath, Asriel Dreemurr would live by their example, and be a force for good. Never kill, and at least try not to get killed.

Frisk placed a hand on his chest, and moved their head closer to his.

" _You have a heart of gold, Asriel. I won't let him take it from you, ever again"_

Slowly, they planted a kiss on his forehead, the prince gratefully lowered his, and smiled in acceptance. Just as he did, he felt himself being pulled away, into the present.

* * *

Asriel coughed loudly as he returned. Frisks soul was gone, and with it, almost all of his powers. He barely even had the strength to draw breath into his lungs. His wounds began to flare more painfully; with Frisk's soul he had had the fortitude to ignore the pain, but now he had to make a conscious effort to nost just curl up in a ball and whimper. He could feel the horns on his head shrinking to their orgiginal size, his muzzle tingled sickingly as his teeth were rearranged, and he was suddenly clad in his former combat robes.

He doubled over, dry heaving. He felt cold and limp all over, the warmness inside him that symbolized how powerful his magic was, had grown much dimmer and colder.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a red heart, Frisk, fly towards the surgical table with the body. He didn't see them merge, but as the reddish light the little sprite gave off disappeared, he knew.

Frisk, like he had 4 years ago, had been reborn.

 ***clank** *

Painful stars exploded into Asriels vision, and he was knocked over on his back, as a metal boot smashed into his cheek. It bore the cold, painful sting of a human filled with anger and rage. Trough blurred eyes, he saw him, Valantis, almost completely covered in his own blood, fire in his eyes, held alive solely by his hatred.

He fell upon him, almost unable to keep himself from tipping over, and wrapped his fingers around his throat, choking him. He gasped as he limply pried at bloodied king's fingers, and grabbled at his wrists in an attempt to break them, but with the loss of his former soul-granted strength, he was completely helpless. Even with all the training he had done with Undyne, he was simply to weak and wounded to push an angered, armored human off him.

" _YOU...BASTARD!... YOUR SOUL... YOU HAVE RUINED EVERYTHING!"_ The human shouted in a crazed, hoarse voice.

Asriel met his gaze. Any pretense of nobility the king might have once worn were completely gone. The human looked more like a corned animal, fighting for it's life. And he was winning.

He gasped for breath as he felt his vision darken, and his limbs grow heavier, lungs constricting painfully in his chest. His arm fell to the side. No, it couldn't end like this...

He was dimly aware of his parents shouting for him, he couldn't pick out their words, blurred as their were by his fading consciousness, but there was no mistaking the horror in their voices. He even heard MK weakly call his name.

Suddenly, his fingers brushed against something. Without thinking, he wrapped his fingers around what felt like a handle, and with the last of his strength smashed the mysterious object at Valantis's head.

Instead of a smack, what came instead was the sensation of the object sinking into the human, and the sound of something sharp piercing flesh. The human tensed up above him, and his grip slackened on his throat.

Asriel refocused his vision. In his hand he held the... SOUL-extractor! It's needle stuck in the human's neck. The human in question stared in wide-eyed horror, all too aware of what was about to happen.

He pulled the trigger.

What followed was a blinding white light, and an almost ethereal scream, as the pistol-like device sucked Valantis's hybrid soul out of him.

Ignoring the light and noise, Asriel grabbed the humans head with his free hand and pulled it down, smashing his forehead into the bridge of the human's nose. The human was knocked off, and fell to the side. He still clutched the SOUL-extractor, but something had been torn off.

No, not something, _someone._

A white upside-down heart. His grandfather. He had wrestled his soul free from Valantis's.

Asriel sat up, as the heart slowly hovered over to him. He reached his paws out and, as gently as he could, cupped it. There was an immense but comfortable warmth emanating from it. Despite the lack of words, he could feel the pride and gratitude his grandfather felt towards him. The heart flew up and stroke his cheek. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Asriel felt proud of himself, a sense of accomplishment welled up inside him. He smiled. He had so many questions, so many hopes, he wished he could have gotten to know him, talk to him.

But he knew, that such a thing would never come to pass. His grandfather had been a prisoner inside another body for so long, and he would not disrespect him by keeping him from his long-overdue rest now.

Ever so gently, the heart broke contact and rose into the air. With a last flash of thankful light, it cracked.

And shattered into pieces. His grandfather had finally found peace.

At least he could give someone their happy ending.

" _no...No... NO!"_ _Valantis_ wheezed at his side. Asriel looked over, the now-regular human leaned awkwardly against a surgical table, clutching the SOUL-extractor containing his dark-green soul in his hand.

Asriel painfully got to his feet.

" _It's over. You're finished."_ He said.

The human looked over with a crazed look.

" _No!... I am Valantis! Former King of All Humans! I can't lose! I cant... I cant..."_

Asriel shook his head.

" _My grandfather is free. Without his soul, your plan is ruined"_

" _I... I cant..."_ The human whimpered.

Asriel sighed. The "king" really was a sad sight to behold. He honestly looked ancient all of a sudden, almost as if-

He gasped as he realized what was going on. Valantis was several hundred years old, solely thanks to the monster soul he once had. But without that, his age was, so to speak, quickly catching up to him. His hair was graying, his skin turning wrinkled and his body becoming more and more emaciated.

The horror on his face told Asriel, that he too realized his impending death as well.

Yet, his visage suddenly turned to one of clarity and acceptance. He looked up at Asriel and they locked eyes. For a few seconds, they held each others gazes, before the human spread his arms wide and laughed.

" _Hehe, well, congratulations, Prince Asriel! You beat me! No way around that. I don't have a human-monster hybrid soul_ _anymore, I'm turning into an old fart, and you're still very much alive. Looks like a total victory to you, your highness. Congratulation, truly! Now, your prize!_ _"_

The king fished an ornamented key out of a pocket in his armor, and gingerly threw it to Asriel. He, in turn, caught it and narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

The king's arms fell to his sides, and he raised the SOUL-extractor.

" _But... although this may be the end of my ambitions,_ _I will live on. My body may die here, but this is not the end... of King Valantis"_

He turned around. For just a second, Asriel saw what laid on the table behind him. His eyes went wide in fear, and he leapt forward to stop the human.

" _NO! DON'T!"_ He shouted.

But it was too late. The human jammed the SOUL-extractor into the neck of the still-sleeping body of Frisk. With another blinding light, the soul and body merged.

The body of Frisk now held 2 human souls within it.

Asriel grabbed the human's arm, and painfully twisted it around his back, dropping the SOUL-extractor onto the floor where it finally shattered. Marshaling the last of his strength, Asriel placed his leg between Valantis's, and with an angry growl and a quick pull, tripped him over to the side. The withered human king coughed up a great globule of blood, as he landed on his back. The sight of someone potentially hurting Frisk, had made Asriel use more force than intended, but even if he hadn't, the outcome would have been the same.

Even if Valantis's hyper-accelerated aging wouldn't kill him, his many wounds soon would.

Asriel felt weariness suffuse his entire being. It was over. He had won.

The human half-laughed, half-coughed as he breathed his last.

" _I guess... I'll see you real soon, then. Asriel"_

He coughed heavily and wheezed.

" _You did good. You did what any self-respecting prince and monarch-to-be would have done... I think monsterkind... will do great things under you."_

He smiled eerily as he closed his eyes.

" _As for me... I think it's time I had some rest. 878 years... is a long time..."_

With that. Valantis, former King of All Humans, stopped breathing and died.

Asriel could only watch in a strange sense of sadness and relief; the king had been a terrible being, but he had still been one of the last living connections to the old times, aside from Asgore.

The skin on the ancient human became taut and tight, before giving way to the bones underneath. Soon after, even those became as dust on floor.

In the space of mere moments, all the remained of the king, was a torn and rent suit of armor.

And the soul that beat alongside Frisks in their new body.

Asriel turned away and walked over to Frisks body. As he finally got his first close look at his faux-savior, it became far more evident that this wasn't a complete copy of the child that had saved them all. The Frisk lying on the table was older, more mature, roughly as old as him, his time as Flowey not taken into consideration, Asriel pondered. Nevertheless, he smiled happily, as he stroke his hand trough their brown hair.

No, not "their", Valantis had said as well. It was "her" now. He wondered how this would play out, would their souls merge into one? Would they fight for dominance, like he and Flowey had?

No, whatever happened, the human on the table contained the soul of one of the greatest people he had ever known, and to him that made the one lying before him Frisk, his sister.

" _See you soon... sis"_ Asriel whispered, as he leaned down and planted a kiss on their forehead.

" _Hehe... yo, looks like you did it"_ The strained but nonetheless cheerful voice of Monster Kid called to him.

Asriel turned around. His heart sank at the sight before him.

MK sat, back to the wall, head bopping up and down, and eyelids fluttering sleepily as he struggled to stay awake. His scales had turned a deathly pale, and a ring of dust, fallen from all over his dying body had gathered around him.

" _MK!"_ Asriel called as he swiftly but dazed hurried his way over to him.

But already, he could see that there wasn't much he could do. Even had he been at full power, he doubted anyone could heal such a grievous wound. He was too far gone

He knelled down to his dying friend and raised his paws, attempting to summon his healing magic.

" _Don't worry, MK! I'll save you, I just need to..."_

A dim, green light momentarily appeared in his hand before weakly fluttering out.

" _I just need to... please, come on..."_

Asriel summoned what little reserves of strength he had left. Every fiber of his being, every particle of his dust bent to the one effort of saving MK.

But it just wasn't enough.

He tried one last time. A pale, green light manifested in his hand before dying out, just like all the others.

All the while, MK just smiled knowingly.

The effort drained Asriel of all he had. He tipped over into the wall, unable to keep himself upright any longer, where he slid down, landing just besides MK. He kicked his feet out, desperately trying to stand up.

" _Come on... I can... I'm..."_ He slurred.

" _It's alright"_ MK whispered reassuringly.

" _No, I can... I just gotta..."_

" _Dude, it's alright"_ MK repeated.

" _No! I'm not letting you die, MK! I promised... No one is going to die... please"_

Asriel was whimpering now, despair settling on his shoulders as he vainly tried to to stand up.

He felt MK tilting over, resting his head on his shoulders. A deep dread blossomed in his heart; his friend felt so... light.

" _MK..."_

" _Hah, wow, your fur really is kinda soft"_

Asriel tried to muster up a response, but all that came out was a desperate, saddened whimper.

" _You know, of all the ways this trip could end, I suppose this really isn't so bad"_

" _MK..."_

" _Remember what I told you? Down at the boat?"_

Asriel noded mournfully.

" _You s-said that y-y-you didn't want to e-end up alone"_ He choked.

" _Yeah... and thanks to you, I don't think I have to be afraid of that"_

Asriel reached an arm up around MK, pulling him close. He felt cold like the grave.

" _I'm sorry, MK, I'm so sorry"_

The dying dino managed a coughing chuckle.

" _Don't be, you did more for me than anyone else ever has... I'll never forget this, Asriel"_

" _Me neither"_ The prince barely managed.

MK sighed deeply, nestling himself deeper into Asriel. For a few moments, all that was were them looking back at the past few days, the trials they had faced, the obstacles they had surmounted, all the while with each other.

Then, ever so slightly, almost as if he was rising up, MK began to feel lighter and lighter on Asriels shoulder. The prince did what he could, clutching his friend tighter, begging, pleading with him to stay.

But there was nothing he could do.

With one last breath, MK vanished, turning into a glittering pile of colorful dust on the floor.

Asriel, tears falling freely, stared at the remnants for the longest time, grief and regret suffusing his being. If just he had gotten on the boat, or he himself had been stronger, if just...

He ripped off a piece of his cloak and dutifully scooped his fallen friends dust into it. He would be taken back – to Ebott.

To his parents.

God, what was he going to say to them? Could he ever muster up the courage to do so?

For MK, yes, he would.

Across from him, Asgore and Toriel watched within their cages with saddened expressions, not daring to interrupt the moment. Toriel unknowingly clutching onto her former husband to keep herself from breaking down as well.

Slowly, gently, their son got to his feet. Head low, shoulders slumped, with blood-splattered robes and carrying a bag with the remnants of a hero, he walked over them, fishing the key out from beneath his cape and undid their lock, all the while not uttering a single word.

His Crownquest at long last complete, the last thing Asriel saw was himself collapsing forward, as the combined effects of the last few days wounds, stresses, hardships and griefs finally overcame him, falling to his knees, he was just dimly aware of his fathers strong arms catching him, pulling him close.

* * *

 **Whelp, there we go, the day has been saved, but not everybody was...**

 **This is not the complete end of the story, there will be a short epilogue that will bridge the gap to the sequel coming hopefully very soon.**

 **Yes, you heard correctly. There is a sequel to Crownquest in the works, with Asriel, Frisk, Undyne and Alphys facing another conspiracy threatening their hard-earned peace, so stay tuned, and have a nice day :)**


	21. Epilogue

The ship rocked gently from side to side, like a baby's crib being tilted by a loving parent. The royal flagship had been a fortunate find, a large, 3-masted galleon-like ship, still seaworthy despite all the centuries that has passed, and still moored to it's post in an underground dock Asgore had let them to, after the battle, and incredibly enough, still possessing it's enchantment that let it sail without a captain at the helm. Now, the whole gang was finally returning home.

Toriel looked down and gently caressed her sons head, resting as it was, on her lap. Her poor child had collapsed after opening their cage, finally overcome by the stress, wear and tear of the last few days. She felt a glowing pride in her chest. To think that he had come so far, gone trough so much, and faced such challenges he had, and not only survived but also triumphed!

No doubt about it, he was a True Dreemurr. No one would ever be able to question his right to the crown now.

He shifted comfortably, bleating softly. He was dreaming, he had been ever since he collapsed, but for the first time since coming to the surface, it didn't appear to be a nightmare. What exactly was going on inside his head, she could only guess. Her happy, carefree son was finally back. Her crownquest plan, even though it had gone completely off the rails, had succeeded.

Perhaps even more incredibly, was the soft almost undetectable pulse coming from within him. Frisk's soul had left him and yet, there was something in there, beating within him; a new, fragile thing. Even amongst monsters, there was very little known about the nature of souls, but some of what they knew were that they were the culmination of ones being, could it be that Asriel, simply by virtue of living and being himself, had attained a new one?

She cast a look over the deck of the ship, beautifully illuminated in the red of the setting sun. Alphys was clutching the railings, her head completely green and cheeks swollen, doing her best to keep her dinner inboards. Papyrus stood at her side, vigorously encouraging her to either fight her nausea, or be the best puker there ever had been on the 7 seas. Either way, he would fully support her.

Sans was somewhere below deck, probably dozing off somewhere. After the fight, he had managed to "find a shortcut" out of the frozen trap he had been caught, even though he had _"_ trouble jimmying the lock"

Worse off, though, was Undyne, somewhere behind the ship, swimming after them. She had complained that she hadn't been able to get a good workout going while being in her cage, and swimming the several hundreds miles that laid between the island and Ebott Village, seemed like a good start for the rusty fish. But Toriel knew there was more to it than that. Undyne was well aware that she used to be Monster Kid's big idol, and she herself had been very protective and caring of him in return, even if he had a tendency of getting in the way and generally be annoying. Nevertheless, there was no doubt in Toriel's mind that the captain of the guard was adding a few more drops of water into the ocean even now. She had looked absolutely devastated when she got out of her cage. As it was, Asriel was still clutching onto the makeshift bag containing MK's dust. His death was a tragedy and shame Toriel would bear with her to her grave, yet another casualty of her ill-conceived plan.

Almost equally as worrying was Asgore; standing in the front of the ship and talking on his phone, confiscated from them when they had been captured. She couldn't hear exactly what was going on, but she could make a good guess. She knew he had officially taken a day off to help with the crownquest, but he had been gone for longer than that. For almost a full day, the king and leader of all monsters had been gone and unreachable by the human leaders, in a time when the worlds eyes had been upon them. Seeing as her former husband was nervously tapping his feet, and gesturing with his hands as if he was trying to explain something, she knew there would be consequences, for all of them. Their connection with the human leaders had already been strained.

Yet another thing she was ultimately responsible for.

She hugged her son tighter and kissed him tenderly on his forehead, her heart melting as he bleated happily in response.

Whatever may come, they would face it, all of it, together.

She thought back with some concern, on what had happened to Asriel during his fight with the old human king. Not only had he almost died, but he had... changed. She had literally been able to feel the power radiating of him, and she had watched with horror and disgust, as that power had corrupted him, turning him into a ravenous, bloodthirsty god-like being that had almost torn the human apart. Luckily, he had been able to break free from whatever had clouded his mind and heart, but it had been a gruesome reminder of just how troubled he was.

She glanced over at Frisk, lying at her side, also still blissfully asleep.

Now, that trouble had been passed onto another child.

Frisk, albeit not the one that had saved them all, had returned to them. Bearing the soul of the original Frisk, the kindest, bravest human anyone of them had ever met.

And the soul of Valantis, their- no, her direct opposite.

Toriel wondered how it would play out. When Frisk woke up, would it be with those adorable, seemingly ever-closed eyes and happy smile, or that arrogant, smug grin of the old king? Or would they, like Asriel had, fight an eternal battle for control over their shared body? Would she even remember her past life?

Whatever may come, she was determined to do her best as a mother to her new daughter.

* * *

When they finally approached the docks of Ebott Village, they were met with what looked like a huge, assembled crowd of people waiting for them.

The whole group, Undyne, Alphys, sans, Papyrus, Toriel, Asgore and Asriel stood on the front deck, observing the nearing shoreline, with Frisk still resting peacefully on a bench behind them, Asriel's cape covering them like a blanket.

" _I honestly feared we would never see our home again_ " Asgore said under his breath, happily. Most of the group nodded in response. _"_ _It's good to be back"_

" _Well, you know what they say"_ Undyne began _"_ _East or West; but Home is Best..._

 _And besides, you really thought someone trained by yours truly would let you down?!"_ She burst out, grabbing Asriel in a choke-hold and playfully wrestling him to the ground.

" _Argh! Hey, no fair! I wasn't prepared!"_

" _Oh, I think it's fair! Now that you don't have a human soul_ _anymore, you can't cheat! You'll actually have to work to stay in shape! And don't think I'm going to go easier on you, punk!"_

Despite his fur already being white, Toriel could practically see the color drain from her sons face. She chuckled lightly. She knew he would never come to any actual harm while under Undyne's care, and if the training helped him stay in shape and defend himself, so much the better.

She turned around to face the shoreline again. Noting, with concern, something strange; all the people waiting on the docks seemed to be wearing dark-greenish clothes. Strange, boxy, metal-looking vehicles stood parked here and there, and all the people seemed to lack the kind of anatomical difference one would see in a monster crowd.

She felt a large paw on her shoulder.

" _I hope you're ready for the storm, my love"_ Asgore said nervously, but not unkindly.

Normally, she'd admonish her former husband for calling her that, but their scared captivity had, all things considered, only made them closer.

As she looked back on the approaching docks, she realized with a sinking heart what he meant. The assembled crowd weren't monsters, they weren't even civilians.

They were humans. Human military waiting for them.

Perhaps the last few days of trouble had had a bigger impact than they thought.

And as the coming days would come to prove, their troubles had only just begun.

* * *

 **And thus! Crownquest, my very first fanfic, has come to an end.**

 **It's been a heck of a learning experience, and I must say, for a first work, I suppose it didn't do so bad!**

 **Before I leave you, I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read my story, all your follows, reviews and favorites are deeply appreciated.**

 **I'd especially like to thank CrystalShards64 for their shoutout on their own amazing story, and BadDRUMMERboy15 for his amazing support, seriously, you guys are the greatest! :D**

 **In closing, I would like to ask if there's anything i could do better to improve; style of writing, have 1st, 2nd or 3rd person point of view, etc. Anything I could do to make any future stories more enjoyable.**

 **Whelp, thanks for your time and support! stay safe, and I hope to see you all in the sequel _"The Price of Peace"_**

 **(Should be out in a day or 2)**


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